Avatar: Legend of Korra - Book 5: Skyrim
by Stormhawk fan SHhype
Summary: The soft snowfall was what awoke Korra, she stared up at the pine trees overhead, as laden with snow, as the clouds above them. She sat up, staring around her, in the distance, she could see mountain ranges and a city she didn't recognise. She tried to remember what had happened but the last thing she remembered was Asami's voice, calling out her name, as they had been pulled apart
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, this story exsists purely becasue I want it to**

**IMPORTANT: READ FIRST**

**Hello all, Stormhawk fan SHhype here, so before we begin I just want to say a few things.**

**First is that, I _REALLY_ did not intend to put this one up this soon, I wanted to finish one of my other stories first. Unfortunately writers block is the absolute BANE of my exsistence right now, at least where my other stories are concerned, but that is only half the reason. The other half of why I didn't intend to put this one up this soon, is that with the exception of THIS chapter, the rest simply isn't ready, there's so much more planning I need to do for it that I can't even begin to even THINK about writing the next chapter.**

**The reason this one is the exception, is because it takes place mainly in Korra's world, so wiki's a few YouTube clips and basic memory saw me through quite easily. As a result I've had this one just kicking around on my computer for a while now, in fact I've actually had to get a new computer in the time since I started writing this chapter, so I had to make doublly sure I didn't leave this one behind on my old computer. So now here we are, thanks to writers block on my other stories, I've just spet the last four hours finishing this chapter and reading back through it to check spelling, grammer, etc. It is now 6:20 in the morning, and I've just gone.**

**"You know what, F *& it" and decided to post this one.**

**As far as this chapter goes, its done and dusted, and it won't benefit from more planning, or suffer from a lack of it, but don't expect an update any time soon. Between finishing planning on this story, as well as working through my three others, I don't expect to get back to this one anytime soon (Lelouch sniggers in background). That said, I'am interested in your thoughts on this one, so, feel free, have a read, and if you like it, great, as always constructive criticism is welcome, its how all we writers improve.**

**So, without further ado.**

**Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Dear Readers all, SHhype Productions proudly presents... Avatar: Legend of Korra - Book 5: Skyrim... Enjoy.**

* * *

**Avatar: The Legend of Korra**

**Book 5: Skyrim**

Prologue

The room was shrouded in the shadow of night; strange apparatus perched on every surface. Through the gloom, a figure moved, her eyes glowing gold in the dark, in her arms was held a tome, its pages fresh and unmarked. She brought it to a desk, upon which were gathered an assortment of smaller books and journals, as well as several scrolls and pieces of parchment. The figure placed the tome onto the desk in the only clear space available, before snapping her fingers at an overhead lantern, which suddenly blazed, filling the room with magical light. In the glow of the lantern, the figure was revealed to have near shoulder length dark hair and wore a dark violet dress that shimmered in the light. She sat at the desk, opening the tome to its first page, before picking up a quill and dipping the end in a nearby inkwell. Then she began to write, in careful, neat, cursive script.

After she had finished with the first page, she turned to the next, once again dipping her quill into the inkwell. This time however, as she brought the quill back to the page, she muttered a quick spell, before beginning to speak.

"This is an account of the events now known as _'The Return of Dragons'_, it began ten years ago, when our world was on the brink of annihilation." As the figure spoke, she let go of the quill, which continued writing of its own accord, penning each word the figure spoke perfectly, as if she had written it herself. "The Septim Empire was now but a shadow of its former self, the previous Septim ruler of the Third Era having died to stop the Oblivion invasion almost 200 years previously. Since then, the Aldmeri Dominion, under the rule of the Thalmor, had risen to prominence, and had humiliated the Empire in the Great War, just thirty years prior to the events recorded here."

The figure stood and walked around the room, moving past an old imperial banner, and moving to a traditional Dunmer mural. "To the east, Morrowind lay in ruins, the southern half, having been ravaged by the Argonians, while the northern half suffocated under a blanket of ash." The figure moved on, this time stopping at a display of two curved swords, "Meanwhile, Hammerfell continued to resist occupation by the Thalmor, with the Dominion ruling with an iron fist along the coastline, while the Alik'r controlled the desert."

The next part of the figure's journey around the room, brought her to a drawing made of the now famous _'Alduin's Wall'_. "Then, just when it seemed like things could get no worse for Tamriel, Skyrim, the ancestral home of the Septim line, was torn asunder by a civil war, and the stage was set, for the End Times." The figure's eyes drifted to the far right of the drawing; it was the only inconsistency with the original masterpiece. The original had shown a male figure, clad in the armour of the ancient Akavir, the drawing – by contrast – showed a young woman, in a strange combination of furs and Stalhrim armour. In addition, rather than wield a blade and shield, the figure on the drawing held a spear in one hand, raised above her head, while her free hand was extended in front of her, with magical energy shown emanating from it.

"Black wings unfolded, threatening to engulf the whole world in shadow and despair," the figure lay her hand on the drawing of the young woman, a solitary tear, running down her cheek as she did. "But in our time of need, the gods saw fit to send a hero to save us... her name was Korra, and this is her story."

* * *

Chapter 1: The call to Action

_Republic City, one year after Kuvira's defeat_

The members of the Triple Threat Triad raced through the city streets in their stolen Sato-mobiles, their prize gripped firmly by a single member in the back of the largest vehicle, a small truck. Behind them, they could hear the sirens of police vehicles, but that wasn't why they were so on edge about this job.

"Do you see her!?" the driver shouted from the front.

The man sitting next to him shook his head, "No, I think we lost her."

They were famous last words, without warning, the road ahead suddenly buckled, and two of the Triple Threat outriders went careening out of control, before crashing into a nearby parked car. The truck driver swore as he swerved around the obstruction, before he caught a glimpse of something speeding along the roof tops to their left, in his wing mirror.

"Aw hell, hang on!" he yelled, as he spun the truck into a tight turn down an alley, away from their pursuer.

The police had anticipated the action however, as metalbenders suddenly leapt onto the roofs running along the alley and began picking off the other outriders. Meanwhile, a large fireball ignited in the air behind them, and collided with the back of the truck, blasting the doors off their hinges, and exposing the men within.

The driver and his wingman heard the screams from their comrades as the metalbenders began pulling the gang straight out of the truck as it sped through the alley.

"Don't stop," one of them shouted, as he tossed their prize to the man riding shotgun, before a metal cable, wrapped around his ankle, and dragged him out. The truck burst from the alley, and had to immediately begin dodging police vehicles, before speeding once more down the road.

The driver's companion was staring wide eyed around them, he looked on the verge of panic, then as he realised, they weren't being attacked he began giggling. "Heh, I think we made it," he chuckled.

The driver was not so optimistic; he glanced in his rear-view mirror, to see the police giving up the chase. _That's not right_, he thought to himself.

Then, without warning, a figure burst from the smaller alleyway ahead and directly into their path. The driver's eyes widened, there was no room or time to avoid the figure, normally, this would not be a problem for criminals, particularly the Triple Threats, however, this was no ordinary person. The driver and his companion had just enough time to register the dark, mocha coloured skin, traditional water tribe clothes and the short, dark hair, decorated with the usual water tribe adornments, before the figure stuck both hands in front of her, just as the front of the truck collided with them.

Under normal circumstances, the match up of fists vs. speeding metal truck would be a no brainer, so anyone not familiar with the figure and her abilities would have been shocked to witness the front of the truck suddenly buckle, as if it had impacted a brick wall, rather than the outstretched arms of a young woman. Both driver and companion were glad they'd remembered their seatbelts, as both were suddenly thrown forward in their seats, the belts digging into their torsos, while the windscreen in front of them shattered. Both covered their faces with their arms to prevent getting glass in the eyes, then their truck landed back on all four wheels with a thud.

The two Triple Threats groggily looked up, into the face of the young woman standing in front of their truck. Into her piercing blue eyes that _dared_ them to try something, both men slowly raised their hands into the air, knowing when they were beaten. A few minutes later, both were being hauled into a police truck to be taken to the local station, overhead, a police airship moved in low over the streets and was secured in place by metalbenders.

The young woman who stopped the truck, now stood with a young man in police uniform off to one side of all the activity. As they noticed the ramp of the airship lowering, the young man placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. "Here comes the chief, good luck," he said with a wry smile.

The young woman returned it, "Thanks Mako." With that, Mako moved to where a group of officers were directing traffic, while the young woman turned towards an older woman, making her way through the scene, her grim visage growing grimmer with every step she took. Finally, she reached where the young woman stood, the two of them stared one another down, the young woman, returned the grim expression of her elder, with one of neutrality. Then, suddenly, a broad smile split the older woman's face.

"Good to see you're back Korra, it's been hell without you," the older woman said.

Korra smiled back, "I can see that, I'm gone for a few months and this city is full of criminals again."

The two of them had a good laugh at that, "Yea well, rebuilding has taken up much of everyone's time until a couple of months ago. And in the meantime, the criminals trickled back into the city, now we're just starting to find the rat nests."

As they spoke, the two wandered back towards the airship, "Doesn't look like your people have gotten rusty at all Lin, they reacted quickly to me driving the Triple Threats into that alley."

Lin Beifong chuckled, "When Mako told me you were involved, I knew our best bet was to plan around you, I had him keep his eyes on you throughout the chase and keep me updated on what you were doing." Lin nodded to a couple of officers who were inspecting the stolen truck, "With that information, I was able to anticipate both your next move, and the Triple Threats, so I had my metalbenders move into position ahead of time, while our backup, prepared on the other side of the alley to keep driving any who got through in your direction."

Korra chuckled and shook her head, "I hope Mako enjoyed the view." Both got a laugh out of that.

"By the way, how's Asami doing these days, is she back in the city too?" Lin asked.

Korra nodded, "Yea, we got back about the same time, she's taken charge again over at Future Industries, and we've both moved into her new apartment."

Lin gave Korra a sly smile, "So, made it official now have we?"

Korra's cheeks flushed bright red, as one hand scratched the back of her head, "Yea, we have, in fact..." Korra suddenly trailed off, then her complexion went from bright red, to pale, "Aw hell, what time is it!"

Lin glanced at her watch, "Almost six, why?"

Korra suddenly put two fingers in her mouth and gave a high-pitched airbending whistle. A few moments later, a large white polar bear dog emerged from a side street and came loping up to Korra and Lin. "Sorry Lin, I gotta go, I've got a date, and I'm already late," Korra replied as she leapt onto Nagga's back.

Lin just shook her head, smiling, "Go on then, you've earned it, I'll talk to you later Korra."

"Thanks Lin," Korra called back, waving as she urged Nagga into a sprint down the street, the officers making way for them as they passed.

Lin chuckled, before turning back to her men, "All right you lot, enough gawking, let's get this place cleaned up and traffic moving again."

* * *

Asami Sato sat at a table in her favourite restaurant in the city, wearing a sheer red dress, her dark hair, flowing neatly down her back as she sipped a glass of wine. She glanced at the pocket watch lying on the table beside her, feeling her chest ache as she looked at it. The silver watch had belonged to her father; it was one of the few things recovered from the wrecked Hummingbird he'd been killed in while trying to stop Kuvira. Mercifully, the watch had not been too badly damaged, and had needed only minor repairs to be functional again.

Asami missed her father, Hiroshi, she wished she'd been able to spend more time with him. At the same time though, the hole he had left in her life had been filled by another, Asami just wished she would be more punctual than this. Suddenly, the person she was waiting for appeared at the entrance to the restaurant, dressed in a traditional, flowing water tribe dress, all soft blues and purples. They contrasted nicely to what Asami knew about this individual on a personal level, and a smile tugged at her lips as the object of her affection was guided to the table by one of the staff. She quickly wiped the smile away though, and put on a very fake feeling frown, as she looked up at her girlfriend.

"And what time do you call this, Korra?" Asami asked imperiously.

Korra rubbed the back of head nervously as she sat down, "Sorry Asami, I didn't forget, just got side-tracked..." she trailed off, shamefully.

Asami held the frown for a moment longer, before adopting a softer expression, "So, who got the Avatar riled up today?"

Korra chuckled as she relaxed with Asami, "Triple Threats, again, I swear they never give up."

Asami chuckled with her, "Criminals never do, but how did you get involved, last I checked you're not a member of the police force?"

Korra sat back, a look on her face that Asami hadn't seen before, "I know, but I saw them tearing up the streets and well... I couldn't just sit there and do nothing, not when I know I can help."

Asami sighed, this was one thing about her girlfriend she had needed to get used to, luckily, it was also one of her most endearing qualities. Asami placed her hand on Korra's and smiled at her, "You wouldn't be you if you'd done any less."

Korra smiled back at that, then the waiter arrived with another glass of wine for Korra, and a notepad to take their orders.

* * *

After their meal, the two of them sat side by side, sipping wine together, just enjoying one another's company. Then Asami spoke, "You know, you still haven't told me exactly _how_ you got involved with the Triple Threats today, what exactly happened?"

Korra stiffened slightly, instantly putting Asami on edge, "Korra, what is it?"

Korra's cheeks began to flush, and she broke away from Asami slightly, "Oh it's nothing, I just needed some materials is all, and well, some of them are hard to come by in the city, so I had to do a lot of searching and..." Korra trailed off as she realised she was rambling. "Sorry, long story short, I was out shopping, and I saw the Triple Threats robbing a nearby bank, they were after something specific in the vaults, I think. Mako and the police must have already known they were up to something, cause shortly after I began trying to stop them, Mako arrives to help with a bunch of fellow officers."

"That or he heard the racket you were causing halfway across the city," Asami chuckled, while Korra adopted a pout.

"Anyway," Korra continued, "We managed to stop some of the Triple Threats, but the rest managed to grab some vehicles and high tail it, I gave chase, Mako followed, and relayed information on the chase to Lin, who used nearby elements of her force to set a masterful trap, which ended with me quite literally punching in the front of the truck."

Asami whistled, "Not bad... and at what time did you realise you were late?"

Korra's red cheeks now returned full force, "About the time the chase finished." At Asami's sceptical look Korra added, "Okay just after, while I was talking to Lin, geez."

Asami laughed now, "Sorry, but you know I love teasing you right."

Korra smiled back as her blush became less pronounced, and they went back to snuggling, "Yea, I know, I love you too."

They both stayed like that for some time, before Asami remembered Korra's reaction to the initial question, "So what were you shopping for?"

Once again, Korra stiffened, but not as much, and she quickly relaxed, Asami nudged her head against Korra's to get her attention. As Asami's light green eyes gazed into Korra's cyan ones, Asami saw a hesitance there, as well as some determination, and was that fear? Korra then swallowed, before taking a deep breath, and giving Asami her full attention.

"Asami, we've been together now for a year, and we've been friends for a lot longer," Korra began. As she did, Asami felt an odd sensation in her gut, as butterflies erupted. "And I know we've both been unsure about this in regard to what everyone else will think, but we've made it work and well..." Korra's rambling trailed off again as she took another calming breath. "Asami Sato... would you- "

"Excuse me, Miss Korra, there is an urgent phone call for you, from Air Temple Island," Both Korra and Asami looked up to see the manager of the restaurant standing in front of their table. Asami glanced at Korra, as she did, she noticed her hand reaching for something in the small pack she carried around with her.

"Can it wait; we're kind of in the middle of something here?" Korra asked.

The manager bowed low to them, "I'm afraid not, Master Tenzin was very clear that he needed to speak to you immediately Miss Korra."

Korra let out a suffering sigh, looking torn, and Asami, despite her curiosity about what Korra had been about to say, knew she would just have to wait. "You should take the call Korra, Tenzin wouldn't ask if it wasn't important, you know that," she said.

Korra glanced at Asami, her face apologetic, "You sure, after all, this is meant to be our night?"

Asami just smiled and nodded, "I'm sure, go on."

Korra sighed, her hand putting back whatever she'd been reaching for, then she turned to Asami and gave her a brief kiss. "I'll be right back," she said.

"Not going anywhere," Asami replied as Korra stood, and followed the manager to a small area, usually kept off limits to non-staff members.

Korra picked up the phone from the table she was brought to, "Tenzin, it's me, what's the problem?"

"Korra, at last, I've been trying to contact you for the last couple of hours," came Tenzin's voice down the line.

"Well you got me, so what is it?" Korra asked, making sure to put a dab of annoyance in her voice, Tenzin was aware what today was for her.

"Right yes, sorry to interrupt, but we have a possible Spiritual incident in the mountains to the east," Tenzin explained.

Korra was instantly alert, after Harmonic Convergence there hadn't been any real Spirit related incidents, they were all just happy to be able to walk the mortal world again, even if only in small areas. Korra knew this had been coming of course, she'd known that eventually, people and Spirits would have disagreements, she just hadn't thought it would be this soon.

"Details?" she asked, her voice now serious.

"There isn't much, apparently, a portal appeared in the mountains close to a town there. The local law enforcement was dispatched to the site to ensure there was no threat to the town, when they didn't report back, the townsfolk investigated themselves." Tenzin said.

"And?" Korra pressed.

"And they said they could see bodies around the portal," Tenzin finished.

Korra felt a chill go up her spine, Spirits as a rule did not kill, unless they were given good reason too. Their normal reaction to humans was first to scare, then, if that didn't work, they would kidnap, then came destruction of property, and only when all other options had been exhausted, would they actually kill. For a Spirit to kill, seemingly without provocation, and as an initial resort, it was unheard of.

"Are they sure they were bodies?" Korra asked.

"The man I spoke to over the phone says they got pretty close, and while he certainly sounded scared, he didn't sound delusional," Tenzin replied.

Korra ran a hand through her hair, "Tonight of all nights this had to happen," she grumbled.

"I know, I'm sorry, but if this is an angry Spirit, we can't ignore it Korra," Tenzin stated, Korra sighed, knowing he was right, then he continued. "Have you asked her yet?"

"No, I was just about to when I got your call," Korra replied.

"If you need some time..." Tenzin began, but Korra cut him off.

"No, Asami and I have our entire lives for that, those people may not have theirs by the end of the week..." Korra trailed off as she pulled out the item she had spent the last few weeks making, rubbing her thumb over it, before putting it back in the small pack she carried. "I'll let Asami know what's going on, then head straight to Air Temple Island, I'll prepare tonight, and then leave first thing in the morning."

"Alright Korra, I'll see you soon, and ensure your old room is prepared," Tenzin replied.

"Thanks Tenzin, see you soon," Korra returned, before hanging up and returning to her and Asami's table.

Asami looked up as Korra returned, "What did Tenzin want?" Korra sighed as she sat down, her eyes downcast, "Korra, what's wrong?" Asami pressed, noticing the look.

Korra sat up straight, and turned her gaze to Asami, "I'm sorry Asami, but I have to go, there's been an incident out in the eastern mountains, spirit related we think. At the very least, there have already been fatalities and the locals are terrified."

Asami felt the good mood she'd been feeling from earlier suddenly drain away, she leant forward on the table, "Are you leaving tonight?"

Korra shook her head, "First thing in the morning, but that means I need to get over to the Air Temple right away to prepare."

"I see," Asami replied, and then closed her eyes, while breathing calmly; this was yet another thing she knew she'd have to get used to. After Kuvira, there hadn't been any major threats or incidents requiring the Avatar's attention, meaning Asami had pretty much gotten Korra all to herself for the last year, it had to end at some point though.

"Asami I'm sorry, I know today's..." Korra trailed off as she tried to find something to say that would make this better.

Asami suddenly sat up and looked Korra in the eye, her gaze was one of support however, not disappointment. "No, it's fine, you've had to accept my responsibilities with Future Industries, I'd be a poor girlfriend indeed if I didn't accept your own as the Avatar," she replied.

Korra still looked uncomfortable, "You sure?"

Asami nodded, "I'm sure, go on now, go save the day..." after a pause Asami chuckled and finished with, "It's what you do best after all."

Korra smiled as she leaned in and kissed Asami, "I love you," she said after breaking the kiss.

"Same to you, just promise me you'll stay safe," Asami answered.

"Always," Korra replied, before giving Asami another kiss. When they next parted, Korra picked up her things and left, waving goodbye to Asami as she walked out. Asami returned the wave, finished her glass of wine, before asking for the bill and a taxi. As she waited for both, she whispered a silent prayer.

"Keep her safe, wherever she goes, just please keep her safe."

Little did Asami know, someone was listening.

The following morning Korra left Air Temple Island and began the journey into the mountains. She'd gone over further details with Tenzin the previous night, though there wasn't much, the town in question was small, out of the way, and was just a farming town, which meant they paid a great deal of attention to the environment. That ruled out most probable causes for why a spirit or spirits might attack them. Apart from the deaths of the local law enforcement though, nothing really had happened, by the time morning rolled around, the only change was a thick fog covering the valley where the portal was situated. Kai and Jinora had been dispatched yesterday after Tenzin had first received the call about the portal and had arrived by morning. Korra and Tenzin had spoken to them on the phone, but they had also reported no change, though Jinora had stated that there was a lot of mixed up Chi in the valley with the portal, and that the local spirits did not seem to be involved in any way. Korra told them to stay vigilant and wait for her arrival, after which, she had left. It would take her nearly eight hours to reach the town, she just hoped she wasn't too late.

* * *

Asami had not slept well and woke late in the morning. After returning home from her interrupted date with Korra, she'd gotten a bit of work done, before going through her usual nightly routine and heading to bed. Several hours later, she woke in a cold sweat, after hearing Korra's voice cry out to her from the darkness. She now stood in front of her bathroom mirror, dressed in only her night robe, face dripping with the water she had splashed over it, to chase the remnants of the nightmare away. Her gaze drifted to her father's pocket watch, the memory of that day rose in her mind once more, getting ejected from the Hummingbird, watching as the hand of the Mecha suit crushed what remained… with her father inside. Asami gripped the watch tightly, _no, I will NOT lose Korra the same way._

Her mind made up, she marched back into her and Korra's bedroom, and first called her company, telling them she would be taking the next week off. Next, she called Mako, he picked up on the third ring.

"Hello…?" he asked sleepily.

"Mako, it's Asami, how soon can you meet me at the airfield?" Asami asked as she reached over to her drawers and began pulling out clothes.

"Asami… you know I have work today…" Mako replied.

"I'll call Lin, don't worry, just get over to the airfield and meet me at my private hanger, get Bolin and Opal too," Asami replied as she began to dress, while skilfully holding the phone with one shoulder.

Now Mako was awake, "Asami… what's going on?"

"Hopefully… nothing," Asami said, "Korra had to head out to the mountains today to respond to some spirit disturbance, and the entire time since she left for the Air Temple last night, I've just had this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach."

"Your worried about her, that's normal, considering your relationship," Mako replied.

"This is different Mako," Asami snapped, before realising herself and lowering her voice, "I've been scared for her safety before yes… and I'll admit the feeling is similar, but this…" she trailed off. "I feel cold Mako, not even sitting in the sun helps, I feel like I'm permanently engulfed by ice, I'm shaking constantly, I can't think straight… I haven't been this out of it since…"

Mako didn't need her to finish, "I can be there in half an hour."

Asami felt tears burn her eyes as she smiled, "Thanks Mako… I'll see you there."

With that she hung up, and began calling Lin, while continuing to dress. As she did, she glanced at the clock, it was almost noon. _If Korra left at first light, then she'll have already reached the mountains by now… we don't have much time._

* * *

Korra observed the area, watching for signs of danger as Naga padded forward up the trail, the fog it seemed, had reached out even to here, and already, Korra could tell that something was not right. Suddenly, the fog parted as two figures swooped down and landed on a large boulder by the side of the trail. Korra smiled up at them as Kai and Jinora stood.

"Heh guys, came to meet me?" Korra asked jovially, but upon seeing the haunted looks on their faces, her mood became serious, "What is it?"

"It's bad Korra, really bad," Jinora stated, before gesturing Korra to follow, and taking off again, Kai right on her heels.

Korra urged Naga after them, following them to the top of the trail, where they finally broke the fog and were able to see around them. Korra's eyes widened as she saw the extent the fog stretched to, it reminded her of a bowl filling with water, ready to cascade down the sides of the surrounding mountains. What was more, the sky above the fog was completely clear, the sun shinning brightly. In fact, the current weather should have eliminated the fog completely.

"So… its not natural," Korra stated.

"No, it's not," Jinora replied, "What's more, it almost completely stops plants from absorbing sunlight."

"We've already started finding dead plants close to the portal site, and all the animals have fled," Kai added.

Korra wracked her brain, trying to think of a spirit that would do this, but none came to mind, "What about the local spirits, anything from them?"

Jinora turned and pointed to another rise that was above the fog, "They've all fled to a local shrine, where the patron spirit of the area is protecting them."

_Even the spirits are fleeing this stuff?_

"What about the farming town?" Korra asked.

Jinora turned to look straight down into the bank of fog before them, Korra followed her gaze, and with a gasp, realised that she could just about make out the shapes of buildings in the fog.

"They refused to leave, they lost so much when Kuvira was running around, trying to unite the Earth Kingdom under one banner, they won't abandon their home again," Jinora said.

Gritting her teeth, Korra urged Naga on, descending into the fog, Kai and Jinora following.

* * *

By the time the others arrived, Asami had already prepared their transportation, the standard Sato family airship was too large and cumbersome for the speed Asami wanted, so she'd gone for a smaller, sleeker model, that could carry all of them, and a Hummingbird. The particular model she'd chosen also had a prototype engine, capable of spinning its propellers at greater rotations per minute than regular airships, meaning greater speed.

"So, what's the emergency Asami?" Bolin called, as Mako pulled the Sato-Mobile he was driving alongside the airship.

Asami glanced over to them, she was dressed in her usual flight gear, and was glad to see the brothers had opted for their standard get ups, and Opal had her flight suit. "I think Korra might be in danger," she said.

"Isn't her job naturally dangerous though?" Opal asked.

Asami shook her head, "Okay yes, but this is different, something about this whole thing feels wrong."

"Like what?" Mako asked.

"For starters, the reason she was called away, was because of a spirit disturbance… but there haven't been any since Harmonic Convergence, and that was nearly two years ago now," Asami stated.

Bolin shrugged, "It was bound to happen eventually."

Asami shook her head harder, "I know that!" she shouted, "But why NOW!?"

Opal tilted her head, "What do you mean Asami?"

Asami took a deep calming breath, "Spirits, by nature are peaceful beings, they don't get into a confrontation unless they _have_ to, or are provoked… meanwhile, the Earth Kingdom and the Republic are rebuilding after the chaos of the last two years, no one in either nation has the time or energy to devote to piss off the Spirits." Asami now looked up at them, a desperate look in her eyes, "So why _now_, the world's at peace, people are focusing on rebuilding and getting along… why _NOW_… something isn't right, I can _feel_ it… and its making me worried that Korra might be walking into a trap."

As she finished, she wrapped her arms around herself, in an effort to stop the shaking that had claimed her body. The shaking stopped as she felt a hand come to rest on her shoulder, she looked up to see Mako standing next to her, smiling.

"Alright, we're in," he said, the other two smiling and nodding behind him. "Whether all of that is true or not, you're clearly suffering from this, so let's go, and if Korra is okay, you'll know there's nothing to worry about."

"And if it turns out she really does need our help, we'll be right there to help her kick butt," Bolin declared, punching one fist into his other hand, Opal nodding beside him.

Asami smiled, and finally felt some of her anxiety lifting, "Thanks guys." With that they boarded the airship, and took off, for the mountains.

* * *

The town was a mess, the buildings had moss growing all over them, some were damaged, but it was more so the people, Korra was worried about, they looked… drained. Virtually none of them were moving, most just sat inside, or slumped against walls, with vacant looks.

Seeing Korra examine them, Jinora spoke up, "They've been like this pretty much since we got here," she gestured around at the town, "At first, it was only a few people, but it's been steadily getting worse, and nothing we do has been able to snap them out of it."

Kai nodded, "Like Jinora said earlier, we tried to get them to leave, but they refused, and now…" he trailed off as they saw a mother walk zombie like down the street, her child in her arms. If it hadn't been for the slight rise and fall of its chest, they'd have assumed the child was dead.

"Tenzin said that someone from this town called him sometime yesterday afternoon," she said, "So whatever did this to them, happened in the time it took you to travel out here."

"Possibly less, seeing as it was effecting multiple people by the time we got here," Jinora stated.

A disturbing thought hit Korra then, "What about you two?" her voice urgent, "It was nearly noon by the time I found you so…"

"No need to worry Korra, when we saw what was happening to these people, and we weren't able to help them, we retreated to the shrine," Jinora stated, "We've probably only spent a couple hours in this stuff at most."

Korra breathed a sigh of relief, then turned back to the nearest townspeople. At first glance, it was like they had a sickness, but closer inspection revealed no symptoms, other than the depression and listlessness. Nevertheless, Korra drew some water from a pouch at her side and activated its healing factor as it wrapped around her hand. As the water began to glow, she placed it on the chest of the closest person, a light briefly appeared in their eyes, but quickly faded again. Korra pushed harder, but the person in front of her exhibited no change. Korra attempted the same thing on a few others, before finally giving up.

"Alright, there's nothing we can do here, and these people don't seem in the talkative mood," she said, and she remounted Naga, "Let's head to that Shrine, I want more information before heading to the portal."

It took them nearly half an hour to reach the shrine, but when they did, it was a relief to be free of the fog. The shrine itself consisted of several standing stones, all with intricate carvings left on their surfaces, upon entering, the pall of dread that the fog had caused was banished almost completely.

"This place seems unaffected, that's a good sign at least," Korra noted.

"_That's because this shrine is under my protection Avatar,"_ came a voice from the largest standing stone. Out of it, emerged a large black leopard, with the same intricate designs that were carved into the standing stones, running along its body in brilliant bands of white fur.

Korra had just finished dismounting as the spirit emerged, and she immediately bowed, as did Jinora, Kai and Naga. "Korra, this is Yara, this is her mountain," Jinora explained.

Korra nodded as she rose from her bow, staring directly at the now seated Yara. She noticed that a number of other spirits had also appeared, gathered on the top of the standing stones. "It's a pleasure to meet you Yara, though I wish the circumstances were better," Korra greeted.

"_Likewise Avatar, and so long as you remain respectful, then you have my permission to remain in this sanctuary,"_ Yara's gaze now drifted to the fog below, _"Though how long it remains a sanctuary, is still to be determined."_

Korra stared at the fog as well, before turning back to Yara, "Do you have any idea what's causing this… what Spirit would do this?"

Yara gave a dry chuckle, _"This is not the work of a spirit, Avatar."_

Korra's look of shock was mirrored by Kai and Jinora, "Not a spirit?" Korra breathed, "Then what's causing it?"

Yara shook her head, _"I do not know,"_ her gaze returned to the fog, _"All I know is that I can sense an immeasurable hunger, within the fog… it is not like anything I have sensed from this world… __**or**__ the spirit world."_

Korra looked back down at the fog, then her gaze slowly rose to the centre of the fog, where a dim violet light, emanated from the fog. "That the portal?" she asked.

"_Yes,"_ Yara replied, _"But be warned Avatar… I have no idea how to close it, what's more, there is… something, guarding it."_

Korra turned back to her, "_Something_?"

Yara nodded, _"It is evil, an abomination against nature… it has no place in this world."_

Korra looked back towards the portal, a strange feeling suffusing her body as she stared at it, almost like it was calling her. "Yara, please keep my friends safe here," Korra stated, glancing at the spirit, who nodded. At that Korra began walking out of the shrine and back into the fog.

"Wait, Korra what are you doing!?" Jinora called.

"My job, as the Avatar," she called back, "Stay here and take care of Naga, if I'm not back in six hours, head back to Republic City, and let Tenzin know."

Before either of them could respond, she had disappeared into the fog.

* * *

Asami gazed out at the mountains ahead, the horrible feeling she'd been have all day, increasing exponentially at the sight of the fog, rolling off the mountains, from between valleys, resembling cascading water.

"That's new," Bolin noted.

Opal, who stood beside him, now opened her eyes, "It's not natural, whatever it is, and I can feel a lot of dark, twisted Chi coming from it."

Mako and Asami shared a look, "Okay, I'll admit, it was probably a good idea to come here."

Asami nodded, and gripped the wheel of the airship tighter, as the mountains drew ever closer.

* * *

It was the silence that unnerved Korra the most, there was no noise, whatsoever, no birdsong, no animals in the undergrowth, nothing, just the endless fog, and violet light of the portal ahead of her. Suddenly, she felt a shift behind her, she whirled around, eyes and ears straining… nothing.

She lowered her guard, and was about to continue on, when a dark shape loomed out of the fog, directly in her path. Korra quickly dodged to the side, as the shape struck the ground with a massive muscled arm, the movement clearing the fog around it, revealing a monster. Its skin was dark, and it seemed to have parts of its body wrapped in hardened plates that resembled bone, but as dark as the rest of its body. On its back was a set of spines, connected by a thin layer of skin, creating a sail, while its head resembled some of the uglier fish Korra had seen in her time. It was at least eight to ten feet in height, and there was an awful stench coming from it, forcing Korra to bring one hand to her face to try and block the smell.

The creature roared at her, before charging, swiping its hands through the air in front of it. Korra easily dodged the flailing attacks, looking for an opening, until she felt something catch her leg. She looked down to see a tentacle had snagged one of her legs, and that it was in fact, coming from one of the creature's arms. Before Korra could attempt to free herself, the creature, pulled her up and into the air, swinging her around to bring her crashing back towards the ground. While still in mid-toss, Korra unleashed a gout of fire at the creature, causing it to scream in pain and let go, then used her airbending to soften her landing, rolling across the ground, before getting to her feet.

"Okay, note to self, can shift arms into tentacles at will," Korra panted.

The creature had by now recovered as well, though a burn mark now covered most of its right arm, and the stench of burning flesh now added to the creature's smell. Korra squared off, and readied for it to charge her again, only to see the creature rear its head back, it's throat undulating, almost as if it was gargling. Realisation hit just as the creature brought it's head back down, and Korra leapt aside, the place where she had been standing getting drenched in a black viscous substance, the ground and rocks beneath it, dissolving, like snow in front of a fireplace.

"And it can spit acid… lovely," Korra grimaced.

A shadow then crossed over her, reacting on instinct, Korra rolled away, as the creature's arm smashed into the ground where she'd been kneeling. Korra stood smoothly and began pulling rocks up from the ground with her earth bending, flinging them at the creature. The first two hit home, but the second two were knocked aside as a shockwave pulsed through the fog, visible only because it dispersed the fog it passed through momentarily. For a split second, Korra saw more shapes in the fog, these ones floating, before they disappeared.

"Okay, I've had enough of this," Korra growled.

She shifted into a water bending stance, and pulled water from the air itself, and began lashing the creature with it. Korra had correctly surmised that the creature in front of her was amphibious in nature, and as such, needed water to survive, hence the fog. And while it may not have been the fog's only – or even primary function – its convenience meant she had plenty of ammo to throw at it, _and_ it cleared the fog at the same time.

The creature seemed to realise this, and beat a quick retreat, Korra intended to follow, but the additional figures in the fog, blasted her with more shockwaves, sending her sprawling. She quickly got back to her feet however and gave chase. After a short jog, she arrived in a depression, and pulled up short as a shape on the ground became distinct, she slowly walked over to it, and felt her breath catch when she realised what it was. The body, of one of the local law enforcement, the captain, if the insignia on his shoulder was anything to go by. Looking around, Korra saw more bodies, and looking up, she came face to face, with the portal, sitting above what looked like tree roots.

The fog had decreased to a thin layer in the air, vastly improving visibility around the portal, but not much further than that. Korra began contemplating how to close the portal, when movement caught her eye. Multiple shapes began to appear out of the fog, all moving in her direction, from all sides, leaving the portal at her back. Some of the shapes, resembled the first creature, others the floating ones that had supported it. Then they broke through the fog, shambling in their odd way, while the floaters stayed just behind them, just inside the fog. if Korra had to guess, there were nearly two dozen of them in total, far too many to fight alone.

Then, another shape appeared in the fog, this one larger, but also infinitely more familiar. Korra smirked, and took a ready stance, "Unless you boys want to go home in body bags, I suggest you run now."

The lead creatures seemed confused at first, then the sounds of an engine, filled the hollow, as a Hummingbird, descended through the fog.

* * *

Asami had listened to Kai and Jinora's explanation, while continuing to head to the portal, after they'd quickly picked them and Naga up from the shrine.

_Damm it Korra, why do you have to be so reckless._

Then suddenly, a flash of light… no, a burst of fire, emanated from within the fog.

"There she is!" Bolin cried.

Asami immediately let go of the wheel, "Kai, take over, keep the ship steady and moving towards that portal, that's where Korra is headed."

Kai didn't argue, and jumped straight to the wheel, as Asami began marching towards the rear compartment.

"You're not going down there, are you!?" Mako asked incredulously.

"What's it look like I'm doing Mako, I'm going down there and helping her," Asami replied, as they entered the Hummingbird's bay, and she got it ready.

Suddenly, Mako grabbed her arm, "Not without back up you're not," he stated.

"Agreed," came Opal's voice, as they turned around to see her and Bolin had followed them.

"The Hummingbird can't carry all of us, and there's no time to land," Asami argued.

"It doesn't have to," Bolin pointed out, "Opal can carry me down, and Mako can ride in the co-pilot's seat for the trip down."

Asami glanced at Mako and the others, before heaving a sigh, "Alright fine, Mako, help me get her prepped, Opal, track Korra's chi so we'll know exactly where she is when we head down."

The other's nodded, and got to work.

* * *

Five minutes later, Jinora opened the hatch doors beneath the Hummingbird, before releasing the clamps holding it, dropping it into the fog below them. Asami, expertly started the Hummingbird's wings, pulling her and Mako out of their plummet. Behind them Opal launched off the airship, Bolin hanging on for dear life.

They descended straight for the light of the portal below, which was where Opal said she'd last sensed Korra's chi. The fog blew past them, obscuring vision, until finally, they were through, and saw Korra surrounded by monstrous creatures, their intent clear. Letting out a growl, Asami directed the Hummingbird at the closest creature, extending one of the legs, just as they passed over it. The leg slammed into the creature's head, sending it sprawling, it slowly rose back to its feet, but black blood now oozed from its head wound. Meanwhile, Mako began firing electric discs at the other creatures, and scored direct hits to several, causing them to convulse as the discs unleashed their built-up charge.

Korra smirked as Opal and Bolin landed beside her, "Mind if we cut in Korra?" Bolin asked.

"Not at all, help yourselves, there's plenty to go around, just watch out, the big ones spit acid and the floaters who are still hiding in the fog can launch some sort of shockwave," Korra replied, as the Hummingbird formed up behind them.

"Good to know," Opal responded, as she used her airbending to bowl over a charging creature.

Korra smiled, before joining the fight, sending a large swath of fire in front of her, causing the creatures there to scream in agony. Mako and Asami continued to use the Hummingbird's shock disks to pick off individuals as they tried to get to their friends, before the Hummingbird was knocked to one side. Grunting with the effort, Asami managed to right the mecha, before looking round, to see the creature it came from. It had a squid like face, with tentacles hanging down, and extending out to the sides. Its body looked like it was dressed in rags, and its only limbs appeared to be two withered arms. Asami was about to retaliate against it, when the Hummingbird was knocked about again, and more of the floaters appeared from the fog, all of them focusing on the Hummingbird.

"Asami, land this thing, or we're going to crash," Mako cried from beneath her.

Annoyed, but knowing he was right, Asami, turned away and back to where Korra and the others were defending. Bolin saw them coming, and used his magma bending, to create a fissure between the advancing creatures and their landing zone. The landing was _less_ than graceful, but they made it in one piece.

"Hold them off, I'm going to check on them," Korra called.

Bolin and Opal nodded, and Korra rushed to the Hummingbird as Mako and Asami climbed out.

"You two okay?" she asked.

Mako nodded, "We're fine, how about you?"

"I've got an un-natural fog that's sucking the life and vitality out of everything, a portal I don't know how to close, and now these things," Korra said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder.

"So… average day at the office," Asami replied, wry smile on her face, which Korra returned, before turning back to face their attackers. As she did, Asami noticed that she still had the small pack she'd been carrying last night, she pushed that thought away though as she donned her shock glove, while Mako used his fire bending to engulf one of the creatures in flame.

Another rushed Asami as she jumped down from the Hummingbird, but she turned neatly, while thrusting her glove towards it, while also ducking under its guard at the same time. The creature spasmed as the glove unleashed its charge, before flying backwards a short distance, and coming to rest on the ground, where it lay unmoving. Asami looked round at the rest of the battle and noted that those she and Mako had got with the Hummingbird earlier, also had not risen. Her eyes widened as the realisation hit her, "Heh, I think these things are weak to electricity."

Korra glanced around too, as she buried yet another creature in rocks, "That makes sense, they're amphibious to a certain extent," she then swiped a water whip at another that tried to reach her while she was distracted, "Mako!"

Mako gave a grim smile, "Right!"

He quickly repositioned to a clear spot, and began charging up, running through the motions for summoning lightning, while the others held the creatures back, even as more poured from the fog. Once he was ready, he called out to the others, "Get down!"

Without looking back, Korra and the others all dived for the ground, before Mako unleashed his lightning in a wide arc in front of them. The creatures all began screaming in agony as the lightning coursed over their bodies, even after Mako had stopped unleashing it. Then finally, the lightning stopped, and the creatures collapsed, the only ones left were the floaters, who stared silently at them from the edge of the depression.

"Ah, well, that was easy," Bolin said, getting to his feet and dusting himself off.

A noise behind them made all five of them freeze, before slowly turning around. Out of the portal, stepped another creature, this one twice the size of the others, and its bone plating coloured a dark silver.

Opal clapped Bolin round the back of the head as Asami spoke, "You just had to say something."

"I'm afraid we have more bad news," Mako stated, as he pointed at the surrounding fog, where yet more creatures were emerging.

"Is there no end to them!?" Opal exclaimed.

"The portal's been open for nearly a full day now, who knows how many of those things came through in that time," Korra stated, not taking her eyes off the big one. That was when Korra noticed something, the fog was pouring from the portal as well, she could see little wisps of it curling out from around the portal's edge. "I've got an idea guys, but it's going to take a little time to get things going, think you can hold them off for a couple minutes?"

She needed no reply, the others simply nodded, before turning and going on the offensive against the creature's surrounding them. Meanwhile, Korra turned to the big one in front of her, as it raised its arm to strike. Korra never gave it a chance. Using her airbending, she launched herself off the ground, pulling out the flaps of her own flight suit, folded away as part of her water tribe garb until this point. The creature, surprised by this, attempted to swipe at her, but she dodged easily, before using her breath to unleash a cold wave towards the creature, the advanced water bending move caused the water in the air to freeze instantly, encasing the creature's arm in ice. Korra then ducked down, and did the same thing to its legs, before proceeding upwards, until she had the entire thing encased in ice, and landing in front of it again.

She knew it wouldn't hold the thing for long, but she didn't need long, just a couple of minutes. She turned back to the others, who were holding off the horde of monsters that continued to pour from the fog. "Get ready guys, its about to get _very_ windy!" she shouted.

"Oh, _NOW_ she tells us!" Mako responded, causing Korra to smirk.

She then turned back to the big creature, cracks were already beginning to appear in the ice, so she had to act fast. She took a meditative stance, and began unlocking her chi paths, in front of her, the ice around the creature's head shattered. It saw Korra sitting in front of it, before turning its head to its right arm, and unleashing a gout of acid over it, causing the ice to slew from its arm. It repeated this process with the other arm, before tearing at the rest of the ice with its claws.

Bolin glanced back at the noises it was making, "Korra, whatever your gonna do, do it quickly!"

Asami and the others also glanced back, and Asami felt a stab of worry, until she saw what Korra was doing, and smiled. _It won't make it._

Finally, the creature was free, and it began advancing towards Korra, it raised its arm once more, preparing to bring it down, only to be blinded by a bright light. When it looked back, Korra was standing, her short dark hair blowing around her head, her eyes a bright white. The creature took a step back, but it wasn't enough for Korra.

"**Get down,"** she called to the others, her voice reverberating with the pure power of her Avatar spirit.

The others didn't need telling twice, they dived behind the fallen Hummingbird, just as Korra unleashed a massive windstorm. The high-speed winds picked up the floaters first, flinging them towards the portal, many smashed against the large creature on their way past. Next to go were the smaller creatures, who had attempted to hold onto the ground, but eventually lost their grip. The large creature, fought against the wind, pushing against it, then the wind stopped. The creature looked around, noticing that it was the last one, the others had all been flung back through the portal. It then noticed a crackling and flashing light below it, and looked down to see Korra summoning her own lightning.

Its black eyes widened with fear, just as Korra launched her attack, a stream of lightning twice as large and as long as the one Mako used slammed into the creature, causing it to scream and spasm. Gradually it began stepping backwards, before finally, the lightning finished, and the creature collapsed back through the portal. Finally, Korra began drawing in the fog, and sending that back through as well, just as the last was about to pass through, she unleashed a final breath of cold air, causing the fog to freeze over the portal, and sealed it up.

At last, all was quiet, and with the fog gone, they could at last see the damage it had caused. All of the plants looked withered, and the ground had darkened, luckily, it seemed the portal hadn't been open long enough for it to effect more than the surrounding area. Asami and the others came out from behind the Hummingbird as Korra powered down her Avatar state, and Kai brought the airship into land.

"Okay, _now_ is it over?" Bolin asked.

Korra smiled, "Looks like it," she said, before Asami pounced on her, wrapping her in a hug, "Whoa, heh, what's brought this on, we're fine, we made it."

"I know," Asami answered, desperately holding back her tears of joy, "I'm just… so glad your safe."

At Korra's questioning look over her girlfriend's shoulder, Mako explained, "Asami had a nightmare that you were in trouble, and she couldn't shake the feeling something bad was going to happen to you." Korra gave Asami a smile as Mako continued, "Given the circumstances, I'd say her intuition was correct."

"I'm sure Korra would have thought of something, even without our help," Opal responded.

Asami quickly broke away from Korra, her cheeks red, "Yes, I'm sure," she said.

Korra smiled, "Well regardless, I appreciate the help," she said as she turned to see Jinora, Kai and Naga running towards them. "Now come on, we've got a farming town to help recover, and some spirits to settle, let's…"

"_Avatar!" _

Korra turned in surprise to see Yara was running towards them as well, from the direction of the shrine, "Yara?" Korra questioned.

"_Avatar, come away from there quickly!" _Yara called.

Confused, Korra glanced at her friends before turning back to Yara, before she could respond though, Jinora called out. "Korra, it's still there, the thing that's guarding the portal, it's still there, get out of there!"

Korra felt the blood in her veins freeze, and the feeling only got worse, as she saw Kai, Jinora, Naga and Yara all skid to a halt, eyes wide in terror at something behind them. She whirled around, to see what she had believed to be tree roots, were now revealed to be tentacles, all extending out from underneath the portal, and raised above their heads, at least half a dozen of them.

"MOVE!" Korra shouted, tossing Asami away, while jumping in another direction.

Mako, Bolin and Opal followed her example, as three of the tentacles came crashing down where they'd been standing.

Korra had no time to retaliate, as the other three came directly for her, she deflected the attacks with her earth bending, but didn't see a fourth tentacle until it was too late, her hastily erected wall, smashed from the impact, and sent her flying. She landed hard, before rolling to a stop, her pack falling off in the process, and landing some distance from her.

"Korra!" Asami cried, and rushed towards her, but got tackled by Mako, to prevent her being crushed by one of the tentacles.

The final tentacle smashed the ice over the portal, and more smaller tentacles began pouring from it, heading directly for Korra as she got to her feet. Korra defended herself with her fire bending, but there were too many, and the six main tentacles were keeping her separated from her friends. Then she felt one wrap around her arm, before it picked her up and slammed her to the ground, knocking the wind from her.

Meanwhile Mako unleashed another bout of lightning, clearing the way, allowing Asami and the others to rush to Korra's side. Bolin and Opal cleared what tentacles hadn't already wrapped around Korra, while Asami dived for her, grabbing her one free hand, "I got you!"

Korra looked up into Asami's eyes, just as the tentacles yanked her backwards, both of them got pulled several feet, before Bolin got a hold of Asami, digging his heels in and encasing his feet with earth, halting their progress, meanwhile Opal used her airbending to keep the other tentacles at bay. Despite their valiant efforts, Korra knew it wouldn't work, as the six main tentacles knocked Mako out, before rising again, to strike at her friends.

Korra felt a cold sense of inevitability settle over her, and she looked once more into Asami's eyes, upon seeing the resignation there, Asami began shaking her head, "No, Korra don't, please don't!"

"I love you" Korra replied, before letting go with her free hand and blasting the three of them backwards with a gust of air, even as the tentacles dragged her backwards. The six main tentacles slammed harmlessly into the ground, before rising and retreating back into the portal, allowing Korra one last glimpse of her friends. Before she was pulled through, the last thing she heard, was Asami, calling out her name.

* * *

The moment Korra and the last tentacle went through, the portal blinked out of existence, and all was silent. Team Avatar stared at where it had been in stunned silence, Bolin and Opal turned slowly to look at Asami, to see her on her knees, one arm extended out towards the where the portal had been, tears already running unchecked down her cheeks.

"Korra," Asami breathed, "Korra no… please no… you can't do this… you can't…" her rambling trailed off as the newly restored sunlight, glinted off a nearby object on the ground. Asami looked down, to see Korra's pack, its contents strewn across the ground. And there, directly in front of Asami, was a Water Tribe necklace, similar in appearance to the Northern Water tribe betrothal necklace, this one did away with the choker, and instead was made up of a long string of polished sea shells, the stone that was its centre piece was black in colour, and Asami recognised it as one from Ember Island. It was carved with intricate white markings, both hailing from the Southern Water Tribe, and the Fire Nation, and at it's centre, a Fire Ruby.

With trembling hands, Asami reached for the necklace, the memory of yesterday evening returning to her.

"_Asami, we've been together now for a year, and we've been friends for a lot longer, and I know we've both been unsure about this in regard to what everyone else will think, but we've made it work and well... Asami Sato... would you-" _

The tears began to pour now, as Asami held the necklace in her hands, she knew now what Korra had been about to ask her, and with that revelation, a high pitched keening that echoed off the mountains around her, ripped from her throat, and with it, a ripple spread across the globe, and all the spirits knew.

The Avatar, was gone.

* * *

**To be continued**

**Let me know what you guys think, again constructive criticism is welcome, and if there's enough demand for this well... I'll think of something, maybe put one of my other stories on hiatus, and start focusing on this one.**

**Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I will see you all next time.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, this story exists purely because I want it to**

**Hello all, we're back... as is usually the case with me when I start a new project, I simply couldn't put this one down after starting in earnest. Good news about that though is that all the planning for Book 5 is now complete, so we're ready to continue. This chapter is a long one and it's only the first of a two parter, so grab that popcorn people, and get settled.**

**So I'm sure some people are wondering how I'm getting around the issue of Korra's bending, as the last chapter started off, _after_ the cannon ending for LoK, and anyone who knows their Avatar Lore, will know that Korra had learned Metal Bending well before the end of Book 4. This of course creates a writing issue, when you consider that the majority of enemies in Skyrim use metal weapons and armour, as Korra could simply use her bending to wipe the floor with anyone she fights.**

**Suffice to say, I was aware of this problem before I'd even started writing chp1, so fear not, I've taken care of it. Also, I should state that while I will be plucking some of the dialogue straight from the game, I won't be doing a 100% copy paste job, only the most important conversations from the game, to the stories progression will be used. Outside of that, I'll will be creating my own dialogue based on how I think Korra would react to various situations and people.**

**We also will be following Asami and the gang from time to time as well, but focus shall be given mainly to Korra, this is her adventure, and her story, so most of the time will be devoted to her.**

**Now for reviews... or rather, review.**

**Guest: want more, shall have more, so here's a 15,000 word chapter, enjoy ; )**

**With that done, let's begin shall we.**

**Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Dear Readers all... welcome back to...**

* * *

**Avatar: The Legend of Korra**

**Book 5: Skyrim**

Chapter 2: A Strange New World: Part 1 – Helgen and Riverwood

The sensation of soft snowfall on her face, was an intimately familiar feeling to Korra, having lived most of her life in the south pole, it was a sensation that helped to relax her. Snow meant water, water meant bending, meant protection… but what was it she was meant to protect again?

_I' am the Avatar… it's my duty to protect the world, and maintain balance between man and spirits… it's my personal duty to protect my friends… my family… my love… Asami._

Korra's eyes suddenly snapped open, "Asami!"

She sat up, and instantly the sense of safety and familiarity of the snow was banished, as she gazed upon an unfamiliar, snow laden forest. Overhead were grey clouds, as heavy with snow as the trees around her. Korra's gaze roamed to the horizon, she was atop a wooded hill, in the distance, she could see a city made of stone, but it was unlike any city she had ever seen in the Earth Kingdom. The mountains that surrounded her were also unfamiliar.

_Where am I?_

Korra slowly got to her feet, there was no sign of the monster that had pulled her through the portal, but the evidence of the fight could still be seen on her clothes, in the rips and tears that had been wrought as she was dragged through the portal.

_Wherever I' am, it looks like I got away from that thing… now I just have to find Asami and the others, and get back to Republic City._

Korra checked her flight suit and was relieved to see it was undamaged. Hooking her thumbs through the loops, she pulled the wings out to their fullest extent, then summoned her airbending as she took a running start and jumped. Nothing happened, and she proceeded to tumble over her own legs, as she unexpectedly returned to the ground.

_What!?_

Korra stood again, and tried to Air bend again… once more, nothing happened. She tried Earth… nothing, Fire, water, still nothing.

_Okay, this is seriously freaking me out Raava… if I did something wrong then please tell me._

She received no response, that wasn't unheard of, but Korra had thought she and Raava had reached something of an understanding. This meant her silence was even more disconcerting to Korra.

_What in the Spirit's name is going on here!?_

Her thoughts were broken by the sight of movement through the trees. Korra quickly moved towards it, but upon drawing closer, the sight before her, compelled her to hide behind the nearest tree. Marching down a forest trail in front of her, was a column of about twenty warriors, she'd have called them soldiers, if it wasn't for their mismatched armour and weapons. All of them sported a mix of fur and chainmail armour, with the ratio and quality of each differing from person to person. Their weapons were also varied. Some carried bows and arrows, with short swords belted at their sides, some carried shields, while others went without, several members within the group carried what looked like two handed weapons, swords that were nearly as tall as Korra was, or massive hammers and axes, with business ends as big as a small child.

The only consistent thing about them, was that any fabric or fur, was dyed a deep blue. Additionally, one man carried only a sword belted at his side and held a large banner aloft. A great bear's head made up the centrepiece, over a background of Gold and blue panels and borders. Next to the banner carrier, was a man on the back of an animal Korra had never seen before, it was taller than her, perhaps taller than Mako or Tenzin, had four legs, and a course fur coat. It had a long neck and large, elongated head. The way the man rode the beast, suggested a similar function to an Ostrich Horse back home.

Speaking of the man, he struck a striking figure.

Though not particularly tall, he was a bear of a man, with flaming red hair. The higher quality of his armour – the same mis-mash as his men – as well as the sword strapped to his side, along with his position at the head of the procession, suggested that this was a man of importance.

Korra was just contemplating revealing herself, when a noise behind her drew her attention. She turned her head back around, her heart suddenly pounding as the hairs on the back of her neck rose. She peered into the gloom of the forest, the light steadily fading as the sun set, then her heart skipped a beat, as shapes appeared. From the outline, she could tell that these men were armoured as well, and as they drew closer, she could definitely say that _these_ men were soldiers. Their armour was uniform across all of them, a metal cuirass and shoulder plates, and metal studded leather strips to protect the torso and waist respectively, along with braces, boots, shin guards and helmets. Each was armed with a longsword belted to their hips, only a few bucked the trend by also carrying a large and heavy looking shield.

They were also moving in unison, despite the difficulties the forest presented to such a task, which spoke of incredible discipline. And where were they moving, why directly towards Korra, and the men marching along the trail behind her.

Suddenly, one of the men stood from his crouched stance, sword drawn as his voice split the evening air, "FOR THE EMPIRE!"

The whole area was suddenly filled with noise, as the soldier's compatriots took up the cry, and broke into a sprint towards the trail and their targets. In a flash of panic, Korra realised she had not gone unnoticed by the newcomers, and the man who had initiated the attack, was now running straight at her. She tried to bend, she really did, but nothing happened, movement in her peripheral vision encouraged her to duck, as her attacker swung his sword at her. It bit deep into the tree Korra had been standing against. Off to the side, Korra saw that the newcomer soldiers had engaged the warriors marching along the trail. But she had little thought to spare for them, as her attacker freed his sword.

Korra quickly stood, and held out her hands placatingly, "Wait please, I'm not your enemy," she pleaded.

The man, whose skin colour was similar to her own, gave a growl of anger, "Then what are you doing so deep in Skyrim, and shadowing Ulfric Stormcloak no less!?"

Korra had no answer, mainly because she had no idea what he was talking about.

_Skyrim…? Ulfric Stormcloak…?_

Her thoughts were cut off again though, as she was forced to duck another swing from the man's sword. "Wait please, just give me a chance to explain!" Korra begged, an act she loathed, but without her bending…

The man gave a derisive snort, "As if I'd listen to your lies, _Traitor_!"

He swung again, and this time, Korra tripped over a tree root. She attempted to use air bending to break her fall, but again, was rewarded with nothing, but a sharp _crack_ from her shoulder as she landed, and the searing pain that came with it.

Grasping her shoulder, she felt a shadow cross over her, her attacker sneered down at her, "End of the line… Rebel Scum!" He raised his blade to strike.

In desperation, Korra struck out her good arm, not bothering with any bending now, just praying, hoping that something would happen, that something, or someone would save her. And as her palm came to directly face the man… Fire, leapt from the air in front of it, and engulfed the man, his screams of agony filling the forest, drowning out the sounds of the combat nearby. Korra's eyes widened in shock and horror, and she desperately tried to turn the fire off, but it just kept streaming from her hand, and Korra was too scared to redirect it, lest the whole forest catch ablaze.

As the flames continued to pour from her hand, Korra suddenly felt… drained, and finally, the flames ceased, and Korra pulled her arm back. The man in front of her continued to flail and scream, trying desperately to put the flames out. Suddenly, two of his comrades arrived, and began chucking snow at him.

_I should help._

No sooner though had the thought entered her mind, than a sharp blow connected with the back of Korra's head, causing her to collapse to the ground. Through the trees, she could see the ambush was over, the blue clad warriors had surrendered. Then her slowly failing vision registered movement above her, before a gruff voice spoke, "Put her with the others."

Then Korra's world went black.

* * *

Tenzin urged Oogi over the lip of the mountain plateau and beheld the valley beyond. The farming town was surrounded by medical airships, and at least two police airships, none were the ones he was looking for. He scanned around, before finding the shrine, a single smaller airship moored close by. Tenzin turned Oogi towards the shrine, and brought him into land, as he neared, he saw that Mako was sitting outside next to the ramp, an ice pack clutched to his head.

Oogi landed gently on the grass next to the airship, as Tenzin jumped down and ran over to Mako. The young man did not look up as Tenzin approached, "Mako, what happened Mako?" no response. Tenzin grabbed him by the shoulders, "Mako, what happened, where is Korra!?"

Mako finally looked at him, and Tenzin froze as he noticed the tears, "I tried Tenzin, I tried so hard… but I couldn't save her… I couldn't…" he trailed off as he turned away, head in hands.

Knowing he'd get nothing more out of the boy, Tenzin ran inside, and almost instantly ran into Bolin and Opal, sitting in one of the cabins. Bolin was sitting on the edge of the bed, knees pulled to chin. "Opal, Bolin," Tenzin called, both young adults looked up at him, before Bolin turned away shamefully, while Opal shook her head, and closed the door.

Tenzin let them be and continued his search. He soon reached the bridge, only to find it empty. He listened carefully, and soon heard voices down a second hallway. He quickly made his way towards them and was just in time to see Jinora close a cabin door, beyond which, Asami was asleep, her father's pocket watch, and the necklace Korra made for her, clutched tightly in her hands. Tenzin felt his stomach plummet, "Jinora… what happened?"

Jinora looked up in his direction just as she finished closing the door, tears instantly began brimming in her eyes, before she ran straight up to him, embracing him as tightly as she could, "Daddy, I tried," before bursting into tears. Tenzin stared straight ahead, the reality of the situation dawning on him, before he registered his sobbing daughter, and wrapped her in his arms.

* * *

The darkness surrounded her, wholly and completely, no matter how hard she tried, Korra could not wake from it. Most times, she could hear noises, but they were so far away, they registered to her as just muffled sound. Finally, something became distinct, as she felt a pair of hands checking her over, and a familiar gruff voice spoke.

"Will she live?"

A pause, before a wizened voice answered, "Yes… no thanks to you and that blow to the head you gave her, seriously, did you have to hit her so hard?"

"She was an enemy, who I had just seen take out one of my best officers… what, do you want me to lay down my sword the next time I'm charged by a Stormcloak?" the gruff voice answered, which Korra now realised was also feminine, it reminded her of Lin in a way.

The wizened voice removed its hands from Korra, presumably to turn towards the gruff female they were talking with. "Spoken like that, why didn't you just outright kill her?"

Another pause, "The Stormcloaks had surrendered already, and Tulius ordered us to take as many of them alive as possible."

A stretch of silence followed, in which the hands returned to Korra's arm, and she winced at the twinge of pain it caused. "Fair enough I guess, luckily this one is made of tough stuff, but this arm needs to be relocated, or its going to cause problems."

"Need any help?"

"Yes, hold her down, I very much doubt she'll sleep through this."

Korra felt a second pair of hands press down on her left side, as her fogged brain tried to discern what was going on. It didn't take long, as the first pair, took firm hold of her right arm, before giving it a sharp twist, back into her shoulder. She couldn't help it, Korra's eyes flew open, consciousness crashing back into her, along with the pain, searing, burning pain, made all the worse, by the return of feeling in her right shoulder, causing a scream to tear from her throat.

"Be quiet you big baby," Chuckled the gruff female voice. Now awake, Korra saw it came from one of the soldiers from earlier, her armour of greater quality than her compatriots. "Besides, you've got worse coming for you," she sneered at her.

A dark blue arm suddenly waved the woman away as his other hand brought a bowl towards Korra, "That will be all captain…" he then turned to Korra, "Here, drink this."

Korra recoiled slightly, firstly because his skin colour had reminded her of the creatures who she had fought before being dragged here – a second look however, told her that this man held no resemblance to those things – secondly though, was she could smell the distinctive tang of alcohol coming from the liquid in the bowl.

"Heh now," the old, blue skinned man stated, grasping hold of her head with his other hand, "Don't make a fuss, it will help with the pain, trust me, you'll need it."

As the adrenaline from having her shoulder relocated wore off, the pain made itself known, as did the tiredness of her muscles. Korra relented, allowing the old man to put the bowl to her lips. The alcohol burned her throat, but a soothing warmth began to bloom in her stomach, which soon began spreading to the rest of her body.

"Atta girl, rest now, you'll need it," the old man said, as Korra's vision began to fail her, and the darkness moved back in.

Once again, darkness surrounded her, most times the noises around her were faint and distant, but she did have some occasional moments of clarity, but most of that was taken with the old man caring for his patients or talking to some officer. Then suddenly, she felt herself get picked up, she was carried by at least two people out of the tent she'd been in, and outside. She was then handed up to a third person, who sat her down on the side of what felt like a cart. Then she was left for a time, around her she could hear the noise of others being brought to the cart, at least three others were sat in the back with her. Then the cart began moving, though Korra was still wrapped in the darkness, still trapped by it, as the cart began to rumble along down what had to be a mountain trail, the sound of an animal of some kind, coming from the front of the cart.

Korra didn't know how long they travelled for, but she did feel the warmth of sunrise on her face, and that began the process of waking her. Slowly she rose up from the darkness, before finally her eyes blinked blearily open. She was greeted with the sight of an overcast sky, pine trees, snow and mountains. Her neck ached from having been leant back for so long, with a groan, she began to stretch it out, and instinctively, reached her hand up to rub it, only to find her hands were bound. This surprise was only mirrored by the fact that she was no longer wearing the clothes she'd come here in, but was instead dressed in brown rags.

A flock of birds taking flight from the trees startled her out of these revelations, and she saw that she was in the third cart of a convoy, slowly heading down a mountain road. The other two carts ahead held more prisoners, the warriors from the other day, now stripped of weapons, and bound like her. Suddenly a voice close by drew her attention.

"Heh you, your finally awake," she turned to see a blond man sitting across from her, wearing the same armour as the other warriors.

"What…?" Korra asked, "What's going on, where am I?"

The man gave her an odd look, before giving her a wry grin, "You're in Skyrim lass, you were caught trying to cross the border, walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us, and that thief over there."

The blond man turned his head to his left, as a second man spoke up, this one with chestnut brown hair, and wearing the same kind of rags as Korra. "Damm you Stormcloaks, Skyrim was fine until you came along, Empire was nice and lazy," he growled. "If they hadn't been looking for you, I could have stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell," he then turned to Korra, "You there, you and me, we shouldn't be here, it's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants."

"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now thief," the blond man countered.

"Shut up back there!" came the soldier who was driving their cart.

The brown-haired man now turned to the remaining member of their group, who Korra now noticed was the leader of the warriors, and in addition to being bound like them, he was also gagged. "What's wrong with him, huh?"

"Watch your tongue, you're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the _true_ High King!" the blond man exclaimed.

The brown-haired man's eyes widened, "Ulfric, the Jarl of Windhelm," he gasped. Korra also appraised the man, up close his bulked physique was even more obvious, but bound and gagged as he was, he didn't cut as striking a presence as he had back in the forest, atop his mount. Then the brown-haired man continued, "You're the leader of the rebellion, but if they've captured you…" a look of fear suddenly entered the man's eyes, "Oh gods, where are they taking us!?"

The blond man answered, his voice turning solemn as his gaze moved to the head of their convoy, "I don't know where we're going… but Sovngarde awaits."

The brown-haired man now began panicking, "No this can't be happening, this isn't happening." His words and the general mood in the cart were not helping Korra's situation any either, and she couldn't help but remember the sneering words of the Captain from earlier.

"_Besides, you've got worse coming for you." _

_What's going to happen to us?_

Her thoughts were broken by the blond man again, "Heh, what village are you from, horse thief?"

"Why do you care?" the horse thief replied, his voice still shaking.

"A Nord's last thoughts, should be of home," the blond man responded, and Korra's mind was instantly taken to her home.

"Rorickstead, I'm… I'm from Rorickstead."

As they spoke, Korra couldn't help but think of her own family.

_Asami, Mako, Bolin, Opal, Tenzin, Kai, Jinora, Mom, Dad, Lin, Naga… everyone._

Her personal thoughts were interrupted again by the sound of a gate opening, and a soldier calling out to someone at the head of the convoy. "General Tulius sir, the headsmen is waiting," the soldier atop the gate called.

_Headsmen?_

"Good, let's get this over with," declared a man in an ornate version of the soldier's armour at the head of the convoy.

The horse thief then began babbling again, and from the look of fear in his eyes, Korra realised they were in _big_ trouble.

_Like that wasn't obvious to begin with_, she thought to herself.

"Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh… Divines, please help me."

Korra ignored him, more worried about herself right now, somehow, she had to get across to these soldiers that she wasn't one of these 'Stormcloaks', but how. The blond man broke her trail of thought again, "Look at him, General Tulius, the military Governor, and it looks like the Thalmor are with him, damm Elves, I bet they had something to do with this!"

_Elves?_

Korra looked in the direction he was, and saw the General conversing with a woman, who also rode one of the four-legged beasts that passed for this land's version of Ostrich Horses. A woman, Korra noted, who had _pointed ears_, she also wore a dark coloured robe, that reminded Korra of a trench coat. Beside her, were two other figures, in gold armour, with similar facial features to her, all high cheekbones and sharp angles. With a start, Korra remember that the doctor from before, had possessed similar features, but with dark blue skin, while these three had an almost golden hue to them.

"This is Helgen," the blond man said, "I used to be sweet on a girl from here, I wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with juniper berries mixed in." Korra looked around them, noticing they'd pulled into a small village, dominated by stone walls and towers that protectively hugged the mountain behind them, most of the village's buildings were gathered at its base. "Funny, when I was a boy, Imperial walls and towers, used to make me feel so safe," he finished.

The voice of a young boy, then reached Korra's ears, "Who are they daddy, where are they going?"

Korra turned to see a boy no older than 10 sitting on the porch of a large building, which if the sign was any indicator, was an inn. Next to the boy was a man who could only be the boy's father, "Time for you to go inside little cub," he said.

"Why, I wanna watch the soldiers," the boy pleaded.

"Inside the house, _now_," the father's stern tone brooked no argument, and only reinforced to Korra, what was about to happen, if this man was getting his son out of visual range of it.

"Yes Papa," the boy grumbled, as he stood and made his way inside.

A gruff female voice then called out, one Korra recognised, "Get these prisoners out of the carts, move it!"

Korra whirled back around, to see the captain from before marching at the head of a small procession of people from a large stone building. One of these people was clearly a priestess, wearing cloth robes, coloured a deep orange. The other, sent a chill down Korra's spine, a large man wearing leather and fur amour, with some metal loops in the front of the chest piece, and a black leather hood. He carried a large two-handed axe, the head of which was made of dark metal, and looked rather worn, but the edge was clearly recently honed.

"Why are we stopping!?" the horse thief asked fearfully.

"Why do you think?" the blond man replied, "End of the line." The carts then pulled to a stop, and he looked Korra right in the eye, "Let's go, shouldn't keep the gods waiting for us."

Korra's own stomach flipped at those words, as the horse thief began babbling again, "No wait, we're not rebels!"

The blond man showed him no pity, as they were made to dismount the cart, "Face your death with some courage, _thief_."

"You've got to tell them, we weren't with you, this is a mistake!" the thief pleaded.

The captain, then called out over them, "Step towards the block when we call your name, one at a time."

The blond man gave a suffering sigh, "Empire loves their damm lists."

A man in the soldier's armour, standing next to the Captain, then began to speak as he read from a book he was holding, while noting stuff down in it. "Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm," he read.

The man known as Ulfric Stormcloak began moving off towards the block on the other side of the square, where the other prisoners were being gathered. "It has been an honour, Jarl Ulfric," the blond man said, with his head bowed as Ulfric passed, Ulfric nodded to him in turn, before his eyes caught Korra's.

Korra wasn't quite sure why she did it, but she too dipped her head, this was a man of great repute after all, it was only polite. Ulfric blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting her to do that, but returned the gesture.

"Ralof of Riverwood," called the man with the list, and the blond man moved off, his eyes locked onto the man with the list. Only once Ralof had passed, did the man continue, "Lokir of Rorickstead."

The moment his name was uttered, the horse thief rushed forward, "No I'm not a rebel, you can't do this." The captain though didn't seem interested in his words, so instead of stopping, he pushed past both before they had a chance to stop him.

"Halt!" the captain cried.

"You're not gonna kill me!" Lokir shouted back, as he ran back towards the gate.

"Archers!" the moment the word left her mouth, two men standing by a tower next to the inn, drew arrows to their bows. Korra's stomach flipped as she watched in morbid horror, as the men let fly, and both arrows found Lokir's back, and he collapsed to the road. "Anyone else feel like running?" she asked, with a pointed stare at Korra.

Korra, for her part, was now shaking.

_They're going to kill us, they're really going to kill us._

Her thoughts were broken, by the man with the list calling out to her, "Wait, you there, step forward." At his gesture, Korra stepped forward, "Who, are you?"

Korra took a breath to steady her nerves, "My name is Korra… please, I'm not from here, I just got caught up in this by accident, I'm not with these Stormcloaks, please you have to believe me."

The captain gave a snort, "Yea, nice try traitor, but after what you did, you're lucky I didn't have your throat slit while you slept."

"I'm not a traitor, I didn't even do anything wrong!" Korra challenged.

A look of anger crossed the captain's face, "Tell that to the man you _murdered_ two days ago!" she snarled.

Korra looked at her in confusion, "What… what are you talking about!?"

The captain grabbed her by the front of her rags, "Don't play dumb!" she spat, "You _incinerated _him, remember!"

Korra felt a lead weight settle into her stomach.

_I killed him…? _

The captain saw the look of shock and horror in Korra's eyes, "That's right, you did," she growled, "His name was Lucius, he was a Quaestor, my subordinate, my friend… and now he's gone… because of _you_!"

The memory of the man from the ambush rose again in Korra's mind, and panic gripped her as she began to defend herself desperately. "It was an accident, I couldn't control it, I couldn't stop it, please, you have to believe me, if I could have stopped the flames, I would have, please!"

"ENOUGH!" the Captain roared, and threw her to the ground, "I've heard enough of your lies, _Traitor_!"

Korra felt tears begin running down her cheeks as the man with the list helped her to her feet, "Moving on," he said, as he glanced at his captain, who just gave a huff and turned away. "You're a long way from Cyrodiil lass," he stated.

Korra shook her head, trying to clear this feeling of utter shame at what she had done, "I'm not from Cyrodiil, I'm not from this world, please you have to believe me."

The man gave her a pitying look, which told Korra all she needed to know, so she gave up trying to convince them, choosing to hang her head instead. "Captain, what do we do, she's not on the list?" he asked his superior.

"Forget the list, she goes to the block," Korra's stomach flipped again at those words.

"By your orders captain," he said, before turning back to Korra, "I'm sorry, we'll make sure you're remains are returned to Cyrodiil." Korra didn't even want to think about what would happen to her body after this, probably left to rot at the side of a road. "Follow the captain prisoner," the list man said, as the captain began to move towards those gathered in front of the block. Once they'd passed through the majority, the captain signalled her to stop as she went to the opposite side of the gathering. Between the two sides, stood Ulfric Stormcloak, and General Tulius. Now up close, Korra saw that the General looked to be in his fifties, possibly early sixties, and was a clear veteran, his grey hair shaved close to his skull.

As the gathering was completed, he turned to Ulfric, and began to speak, "Ulfric Stormcloak, some here in Helgen call you a hero… but a hero doesn't use a power like the Voice to murder his King and usurp his throne." Korra blinked in surprise, Ralof had made Ulfric sound like the slighted party, now here was Tulius giving a different view. For his part, Ulfric uttered a muffled protest through the gag, before Tulius continued. "You started this war, plunged Skyrim into chaos, and now the Empire is going to put you down, and restore the peace!" Tulius declared.

As his declaration finished, a distant roar, echoed over the mountain side, Korra, along with many others turned their eyes to the sky, searching for the source. "What was that?" one of the Imperials asked.

"It's nothing," Tulius stated, "Carry on."

"Yes, General Tulius," The captain said, stepping forward, before turning to the priestess, "Give them their last rights."

The priestess stepped forward, and raised her arms to the sky, "As we commend you're souls to Aetherius, blessings of the Eight Divines upon you…"

She would have continued, but the man standing next to Korra, suddenly pushed forward past her, "For the love of Talos, _shut up_, and let's get this over with!"

The priestess gave him a withering glare, "As you wish!"

As the priestess moved away, the captain turned the man towards the block, pushing him first to his knees, and then down to the block, so his head was positioned over the basket in front of it. "Don't look away," said a familiar voice next to Korra, she glanced to the side to see Ralof now standing next to her.

Then the voice of the man about to be executed drew her eyes forward, "My ancestors are smiling at me Imperials, can you say the same!?"

Then the axe came down, Korra knew she would never forget the sickening _crunch_ the axe made as it cleaved his head from his shoulders, and bit into the wooden block below. The captain pushed his decapitated body to one side with her boot, as people around her began crying out.

"You Imperial bastards!"

"Justice!"

"Death to the Stormcloaks!"

Then Ralof's voice came again in her ear, "As fearless in death, as he was in life."

"Next, the renegade from Cyrodiil!" the captain cried.

As she did, another roar, closer this time, echoed over the mountains. The man who had been taking their names spoke, "There it is again, did you hear that?"

"I said, _next prisoner_!" the captain growled.

"To the block prisoner, nice and easy."

Korra felt her stomach drop, while her heart leapt into her throat.

_This is it, they're going to kill me, I'm never going to see my home, my family, my friends, ever again… _

Korra walked forward, as if in a daze.

_Mom, Dad, Mako, Bolin, Opal, Tenzin… Asami… everyone… I'm so sorry._

Korra no longer payed the tears running down her cheeks any mind, as she came to stand in front of the block. The captain pushed her to her knees, then she felt the captain's boot press against her back, perhaps a bit more firmly than necessary. Then she was positioned over the block, facing the headsmen – the wood of the block rough against her neck, and wet from the blood of the first man – tears in her eyes, as the headsmen raised his axe.

Then, a large black shaped crossed the sky above, a third roar, issuing from its mouth. Apparently, she was not the only one to see it, as she heard the General call out, "What in Oblivion is _that_!"

"Sentries, what do you see?" the captain asked.

"It's in the clouds!"

The headsmen by now had raised his axe to full height, and was about to bring it down, when the shape landed on the tower behind him. The landing shook the ground and caused the Headsmen to lose his balance and drop his axe behind him. Korra meanwhile, was rolled off the block by the shockwaves the landing caused, and stared up at the creature, which now stared back. "Dragon!" came a cry from one of the villagers, and it broke the spell, the Great black Dragon uttered another roar, and this one split the sky itself, as the clouds began to swirl, while flaming rocks plummeted down.

One landed close to Korra, and she was knocked about, coming to rest on her elbows and knees. Disorientated, she shook her head, trying to clear it, when a hand grabbed hold of her arm. She looked up into the face of Ralof, and barely heard what he shouted at her, "Come on, get up, the gods won't give us another chance!" Korra allowed him to pull her to her feet, "The tower, quickly, let's go!" he cried, as he began making for the far tower. Despite her still ringing ears, Korra followed him, keeping her eyes on his back the whole way, flaming rocks falling to earth all around them.

Then they were in, and two other Stormcloaks had slammed the door behind them, "Jarl Ulfric, what is that thing, could the legends be true?" Ralof asked as Korra leant against a table at the back of the room, panting.

"Legends don't burn down villages," Ulfric replied in a deep baritone. The dragon gave another roar outside, "We need to move, _now_!" Ulfric ordered.

Ralof grabbed a hold of Korra again, "Up through the tower, let's go!" he cried, half guiding, half dragging Korra up the stairs.

They soon reached a second floor, where it looked like the levels above had already collapsed, creating a large drift of rubble blocking the stairwell. A single Stormcloak was trying to clear the way, "We've got to clear this!"

Ralof moved forward to help him, but a noise suddenly made him pull back, just as the outer wall of the tower got smashed in, revealing the dragon. Ralof pushed Korra back down the stairs a few steps, and up against the wall as the dragon unleashed a firestorm into the hole it had created, roasting the unfortunate Stormcloak ahead of them alive, even as he was crushed by the rubble. Korra recoiled from the heat of the flames, the tower suddenly feeling like an oven, and she briefly wondered if the dragon would roast them alive in here. Mercifully though, the flames stopped, and the dragon flew away.

The moment it was gone, Ralof moved to the hole it had created, "There," he cried, pointing, "See the inn on the other side." Korra looked down at the building just below them, half gone and on fire, "Jump through the roof and keep going," Ralof continued. Korra stared at him like he was crazy, but he simply pushed her forward, "Go, we'll follow when we can!"

Korra realised she had no choice, the dragon could be back at any moment, she had to keep moving. Using Ralof's shove as her momentum, she leapt through the hole in the tower, and down onto what was the second story of the inn. Once again, she cringed from the heat of the flames that surrounded her, thankfully, nowhere near as intense as the firestorm the dragon had unleashed. With her hands bound, her landing was less than graceful, but adrenaline was pushing her forward, and she rolled with the impact, getting to her feet, and running forward to the other side of the building, where she could see light.

She jumped clear of the building's rafters, just before a flaming beam came down behind her, and was now out in the open again. And face to face with an old man, the boy from before, and the Imperial soldier who had taken their names.

"Hamming!" the soldier cried to the boy, "Hamming you need to get over here, _now_!" As the boy rushed over to the soldier, she saw the boy's father lying injured further ahead. Then the ground shook as the dragon landed behind the man. "Torolf!" the soldier cried, before gabbing Hamming and pushing him towards the old man, "Gods, everyone get back!"

Korra watched impotently as the boy's father was engulfed in flames from the dragon, the man's screams filling the air, then the Imperial soldier's voice drew her attention. "Still alive prisoner, keep close to me if you want to stay that way," Korra gave him a nod as he turned to the old man, "Gunnar, take care of the boy, I need to find General Tulius and join the defence."

"Gods guide you Hadvar," Gunnar replied, while taking the now sobbing boy under his arm.

The two of them then set off up the road, back towards the gates, as they went, they passed Torolf's body, Korra's nose wrinkled at the smell of charred flesh, and did her best to avert her gaze. Suddenly, Hadvar pushed her into an alley, "Stay close to the wall!" he shouted.

The answer to why, soon came, as the ground shook again, from the dragon landing atop said wall. Korra stared up at it, in their current position, they were directly below where it was perched, its head extending over them. Korra followed the direction it was facing, just in time to see another Imperial get engulfed by flames. As she watched, Korra felt wretched.

_I should be doing something, I should be helping, this thing is killing everyone, and I'm just standing here, useless!_

She was unable to follow this line of thinking further, as Hadvar pulled her onwards as the dragon left. As they proceeded through another ruined home, Korra heard the voices of more Imperials, as well as some of the villagers. Then General Tuluis' voice rang out above the rest, "Hadvar, into the keep soldier, we're leaving!"

Hadvar nodded and pulled Korra with him, guiding her past the gate and towards the large stone building at the foot of the village. "It's you and me prisoner, stay close," he called over his shoulder, they had just reached the keep, when Ralof appeared in front of them. "Ralof, you dammed traitor, out of my way!" Hadvar shouted.

"We're escaping Hadvar, you're not stopping us this time," Ralof answered.

"Fine then, I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovngarde!" Hadvar shouted.

As they argued, Korra had move to one side of them, looking around fearfully. Then a roar drew her gaze upwards, along with the other two. The dragon was headed straight for them. Acting on instinct, Korra grabbed the arm closest to her with her bound hands, which just so happened to be Ralof's, and pulled him away from where they were standing. In the same moment, a fireball issued from the dragon's mouth, and slammed into the spot where they'd been. The force of the explosion hitting the ground, sent them flying through the doors of the keep, while a cascade of rubble, closed the way behind them.

* * *

The evening after Tenzin's arrival, found all of them, with the exception of Asami, sitting round a campfire, just on the periphery of the Spirit Shrine, eating a meal that should have been at least satisfying, but everyone found tasteless, thanks to recent events. No one spoke for some time, then finally, Kai broke the silence.

"What do we tell everyone?"

No one answered, the silence stretching out. Until, Tenzin spoke up, "The truth, it won't do to hide what happened from everyone."

Another long silence, "Then what?" Mako asked.

They were all prepared for another long silence, before a voice behind them spoke up. "It's obvious isn't it," they all turned to see Asami marching from the airship, towards them, a dishevelled look to her. "We find Korra and rescue her!" she finished, as she arrived at their circle around the campfire.

"Asami…" Tenzin began.

"What, Tenzin!" she snapped, whirling to him.

Tenzin sighed, "We don't even know where Korra is?"

"When has that ever stopped us!" Asami yelled, "When has that ever stopped _Korra_… whether you lot help me or not, I'm _going_ to find her!"

Tenzin now stood, "Asami please, I know your upset…"

"_Upset_!?" Asami snapped, cutting him off, "Upset… no, Tenzin, I'm not upset… what could possibly make you think that?" she said, sarcasm dripping from every word. "Is it perhaps what happened… that we lost Korra to some strange entity we've never seen before… or that it happened nearly a year after I lost my father!" Tenzin winced with each point made, before he felt his heart plummet, as Asami thrust the necklace Korra had made in his face. "Or maybe it's this!" she snarled, her eyes blazing as she stared the air bender down, "Do you know what this is, Tenzin!?"

"Yes," Tenzin replied softly.

"How long?" Asami demanded, "How long did she spend making this… how long did she plan on asking me the question that went with it!?"

"She started working on it, shortly after you both returned from the Spirit World," Tenzin answered.

Asami stared at him for a moment, a look of disbelief etched across her face, "You knew," she breathed. "You knew from the very start what she was planning on asking me two nights ago… didn't you," Tenzin merely nodded dejectedly. "You knew…" Asami's eyes then narrowed again, as anger flooded back, "You knew, and you still came barging in!"

"Asami please…" Tenzin tried, but Asami cut him off again.

"You knew… and yet you still sent her on a potentially dangerous mission… YOU KNEW!" Asami collapsed to her knees, cradling the necklace in her hands. "You knew… and you sent her here anyway… you knew… and now we've lost our chance… forever…" the tears returned as Asami broke down once more, her friends moving from their seats to embrace and comfort her, while Tenzin simply stood there, numb.

Then a voice drew his attention, _"Tenzin, may I speak with you in private please."_

Tenzin looked up to see Yara sitting at the edge of the shrine. He glanced down at Asami and the others, before nodding, and moving around them to join Yara. "What is it?" he asked as they began walking to the back of the shrine.

"_I've searched through my territory in the Spirit World, and I've asked others to do the same,"_ Yara responded.

"And?" Tenzin pushed.

Yara sat in front of her standing stone, and shook her feline head sadly, _"Nothing, there's no trace of Korra or Raava anywhere in the Spirit World."_

Tenzin gave a long sigh, "Then our worst fears have been confirmed… that creature, whatever it was that took Korra… wasn't even from our world."

"_It would appear so…"_ Yara replied, _"We will of course keep looking, there are many places to hide in the Spirit World, and it could be that whatever took Korra has simply been undiscovered until now… but I rather doubt it."_

Tenzin nodded, "Understood," he then stood in thought for a moment, before an idea struck him. "Is there anything we could do to help?"

Yara tilted her head slightly, as she thought, then righted it, _"I suppose you could try talking to Wan Shi Tong."_

Tenzin bristled, "The traitorous owl who helped Unalaq kidnap my daughter!?" he growled.

Yara nodded, _"I know you're relationship with him is not the best… but he has been disciplined by the other spirits after his association with Unalaq was made known to us… along with the fact that he knowingly helped to release Vaatu from his prison."_

"Bet he wasn't happy about that," Tenzin muttered, a satisfied smirk on his face.

Yara gave a small chuckle herself, _"No he wasn't… but it has created somewhat of a rift between the spirits… despite what he did, Wan Shi Tong is still an old and well-respected spirit, not to mention powerful."_ She now turned back to Tenzin, _"It's a rift we'd like repaired, and though we'd hoped the Avatar would be the one to do so… it appears now we may have no choice… Wan Shi Tong is likely the only being who might know what has happened to Korra… perhaps he even had a hand in it… regardless, we need to know."_

Tenzin nodded, he disliked the idea of begging the stuck-up owl for anything, especially after what happened last time… but it wasn't like they had many options.

* * *

Korra groaned as she shook her head to stop the ringing in her ears, eyes squinted against the light from the chandelier above. Then a shape moved between her and the light, and a familiar voice spoke, "Shor's bones I thought we were done for there," Ralof exclaimed, as he grasped her arms and hauled Korra to her feet.

"Yea," Korra groaned, "Whatever you say."

Ralof chuckled, "Thanks by the way, if you hadn't pulled me away, I might have ended up like that Imperial milk drinker, Hadvar." Korra tensed at the man's name, "Guy was a bastard to be sure, but I don't think even I would want to go out like that," Ralof continued. "Rest in peace I suppose, you Imperial lap…"

SMACK.

Ralof collapsed to the ground, hand holding his now burning cheek, staring up at Korra in shock. "SHUT UP!" she shouted, "Just shut up, how can you be so cold and heartless!"

Ralof gave her a confused stare, "We're on opposite sides of a war lass, how do you expect me to act?"

"With some fucking decency at least!" Korra retorted, "You're both from this land aren't you, it's not like he was a foreigner!" Korra knew the last thing she should be doing was shouting at this man, after he had helped pull her to safety, but all the stress and fear from this entire event had gotten the best of her. It didn't help that her hands were bound, and her bending was gone, replaced with something she didn't know how to use. Now that their lives weren't in immediate danger, it had all risen to the surface, and Korra had neither the heart nor the strength to hold it back anymore.

"You want me to show decency, to a man who betrayed his own people to those who don't give two shits about him, _or_ Skyrim!?" Ralof countered.

"I don't care what he did!" Korra screamed, "Frankly, I don't care what _you've_ done… he was still a living, breathing, thinking, _feeling_, human being… and we left him there to _DIE_!" As the last word came out, Korra collapsed to her knees, her entire body shaking. She'd lost her bending, she'd been captured by strange people in a strange land, she'd been accused of murder, and apparently found guilty, she'd nearly been executed, only to have that interrupted by a _dragon_, and one that was completely unlike the dragons she was used to.

Not only had the body structure been different, eschewing the traditional serpentine shape, and instead going for a more compact torso… _and wings_… but the creature had also been aggressive. Like spirits, dragons in her world, would not usually attack unless provoked. This dragon had come to _them_ seeking the fight, barely had a villager screamed, before it had begun killing.

_Is it just so used to human aggression that it doesn't even wait… or… no… from the sounds of things, these people haven't seen a dragon… they even called them __**legends**__… which means it's naturally aggressive._

Korra was on the verge of sobbing, when she felt a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry lass… I wasn't thinking about how you felt about all this… must not have had to deal with this much down in Cyrodiil?"

Korra gave a humourless chuckle, "You could say that." She then slumped back onto her legs, the position was not the most comfortable, but she was simply too drained to care.

Ralof sat next to her, before heaving a sigh, "Hadvar and I grew up together, you know." Korra gave a start, staring at him, he chuckled, "Yea I know, hard to believe… we were born in the same village, Riverwood… we spent our boyhood playing soldier, both dreaming of one day joining the legion, side by side." Ralof's eyes grew distant as memories played behind them, "But as time passed, we grew apart… he still wanted to join the legion, but I was being drawn more and more towards the Stormcloaks, and Ulfric's cause."

Korra stayed silent as he spoke, "We stayed friends though, both respecting the other's decision… that was until, Ulfric challenged High King Torygg, and bested him."

"When you say, _bested_, you mean Ulfric killed him, don't you?" Korra interrupted.

Ralof nodded, "Aye, that's one way to put it, and the Imperials and their lapdogs certainly called it murder, just to keep Ulfric from claiming the title of High King, a title that was now rightfully his." Ralof shook his head to clear some unhappy thoughts away, "When news reached Riverwood, I knew I would have to leave, Hadvar tried to stop me from going, tried to convince me to give up Ulfric's mad cause, saying it was doomed to failure… things got, _heated_ after that… we argued… nobody won it… and afterwards, we found ourselves playing soldier… only for _real_, this time."

Korra just stared at him for several moments, before finally finding the courage to speak, "I don't get it… if you were friends then _why_ do you talk about him like you did?"

Ralof heaved a sigh, "I guess because I felt he betrayed me… betrayed our friendship… betrayed Skyrim."

Korra frowned then, "And if it had been Hadvar I had pulled away from that spot, and not you?"

Ralof gave her a look, before a wry smile split his face, "He'd have probably said the exact same thing about me."

Korra sighed herself, "What the fuck did I do to deserve this?" she shook her head as she looked at him, "I had better things to do, than tell you lot that you're being knuckle heads."

Ralof chuckled, "I don't know what you did lass… but the Gods wouldn't have sent you to Skyrim without a reason," he declared while standing up and offering his hand. Korra took it, and he pulled her to her feet again, "All you can do is play along, and hope you find some happiness at the end of the journey," he finished, as he pulled out a knife, and cut her bindings.

Korra rubbed her sore hands, feeling worlds better now that she had them free, "Thanks I guess, I'll keep that in mind."

Ralof smiled, then looked over to the other side of the circular room, "Ahh, poor Gunjur… well no use crying about it now." He turned back to Korra, and nodded in his fallen comrade's direction, "Go ahead and take Gunjur's gear, he won't be needing it anymore."

Korra blanched, "Yea, no… sorry but I'm not a fan of the idea of wearing a dead man's clothes."

"You're going to need something lass," Ralof stated, "Unless you want to look like a prisoner as you wander Skyrim."

Korra gave him a frown, "I'll find something… I just don't feel comfortable wearing a _dead_ _man's clothes_."

Ralof gave a suffering sigh, "Well… at least take his axe, that way you'll be armed."

Korra was about to reply that she didn't like the idea of handling a weapon either, but a noise down one of the hallways, cut her off. "Come on, move it, we need to clear a path of escape for the General," came the voice of the captain who'd sentenced Korra to death.

"Imperials," Ralof hissed, "Get down."

He pushed Korra to one side of the gate where the Imperials were coming from, drawing his axe at the same time. Korra crouched against the wall with him, hoping, praying that the Imperials wouldn't come through their room. Wishful thinking, the Imperials made a beeline for it, the gate separating them opening with a clanking of gears, as the Imperials pulled a lever on the other side.

Ralof, predictably, pounced on the captain and the man following, both of whom drew their blades the instant they saw him. Still, Ralof was able to close the distance between them before their swords had fully left their scabbards. As such, the soldier following the captain, threw himself, between them, only barely parrying the first blow. This left the captain unoccupied, and her eyes immediately found Korra.

"There you are!" she growled, advancing on her, "You might have escaped the headsmen, but you won't escape me!"

Korra reacted instinctively, ducking underneath the captain's first swing, and got within her guard, before delivering a solid blow to her chest plate. It hurt like hell punching the metal cuirass, but its effect served her well, staggering the captain. Quick as a whip, Korra used her knowledge of Chi Bending to strike the nerve points along the captain's sword arm. A different world this might be, but the people were still human, and that meant that all the weaknesses of the human body should still be the same.

Korra's intuition was rewarded, the captain's arm went limp as Korra completed the set of precise blows, and the captain's sword clattered to the ground. She looked at Korra, stunned, before Korra swept her legs out from under her, snatched up the woman's blade, and pinned her to the ground, blade pointed at her neck. The woman looked up at Korra in shock for a few moments, then a scowl morphed onto her features, "Go ahead traitor… finish me off, like you did Lucius!"

Korra's mind suddenly snapped out of the red haze that had fallen over her during the heat of combat, suddenly panting as she realised how close she'd come to killing this woman in cold blood. She launched herself upright, and staggered away from the prone woman, and tossed the sword to one side.

"What are you doing!?" Ralof exclaimed, as he finished off the Imperial, he was duelling with.

The captain was clearly thinking that as well, as she sat up, cradling her limp arm, her face a mask of confusion. Then Korra spoke, "I'm not a murderer… I don't care what you say… what happened with Lucius was an _accident_… one I won't be repeating."

The captain's eyes widened at that, while Ralof simple stared at her, "Don't be foolish girl, if she had the chance you know she'd kill you!" he cried, gesturing at the captain.

"Don't misunderstand, I'll fight to defend myself… and if I'm given no other choice…" the words stuck in Korra's throat as she forced them out, "I'll do what's necessary to survive… but I won't kill if I don't have to… there's always another way."

Both the captain and Ralof stared at her, aghast. Then the captain's scowl returned, "Then you'll die… you won't last a week out in Skyrim's wilderness with that attitude," she stated, a smug smirk on her face.

"Maybe… but I won't become a murderer," Korra replied, as she walked back up to the captain, and plucked a key that was hanging around the woman's neck.

"Heh!" the captain exclaimed, "Give that back!"

"We're escaping, so we're going to need this to get out," Korra stated.

The captain gave a growl, "Like hell you're escaping!"

She ran at Korra again, before Ralof had a chance to react. With Korra's back turned, the captain felt confident she could best the girl, even if one of her arms didn't work right now. Just as she reached Korra however, the captain found herself swinging at nothing but air, Korra had anticipated her move, and glided smoothly and seamlessly out of the way. Before the captain could turn to face Korra, she felt more blows like the last ones, running up one leg, to her back and all the way to her shoulder. The moment they were complete, the captain toppled over, all motor control below her neck gone.

Korra kicked the captain over onto her back, the older woman had a bloody nose and was glaring at Korra. "What in Oblivion was _that_!" she snarled.

It was Korra's turn to smirk, "A little something from my world, we call it Chi Bending, when you target the pressure points of the body in a certain way, you can cause the muscles in a limb – or in this case the entire body – to go limp." The captain stared up at her in a mixture of disbelief, awe and shock.

"So, what," she growled, "Am I stuck like this now!?" Korra noted her voice held only the tiniest hint of desperation.

"No, you should be fine in like twenty minutes, you'll probably even be moving around inside of ten, though you won't be running any marathons," Korra explained. "But that should still be enough time for us to be on our way."

The captain's stunned look returned, "YOU'RE JUST GOING TO LEAVE ME HERE!?" she shouted.

"That's the plan, come on Ralof, I don't know about you, but I've had enough of this place," Korra replied.

Ralof gave a small chuckle, "Right behind you."

With that, Korra unlocked the next gate, before dropping the key on top of the prone captain, "Thanks for the help." Then she and Ralof proceeded through.

"Wait!" the captain cried, the two of them turned back to her, "What was your name again?"

Korra was surprised that this woman would ask that, but decided to answer all the same, "It's Korra."

The captain's scowl returned, "Well enjoy this while you can _Korra_," she replied, spitting the name like it was some kind of derogative. "Because I won't stop searching for you, you hear, I'm going to scour every inch of Skyrim until I find you, and you face justice for what you did to Lucius, DO YOU HEAR ME!"

Korra did, even as she turned and began walking away, listening to the captain rant and rave. "Would have been easier just to kill her," Ralof commented as they reached the bottom of a flight of stairs.

"Easier… maybe…" Korra conceded, "The right thing… that's more of a grey area."

Ralof glanced at Korra, at the sound of those haunted words, "You okay lass?"

Korra shook her head, "I don't know, this is all so messed up… I mean, I've never been one to shy away from a fight before… but this… it's on a whole new level… and I'm not sure I can deal with it."

Ralof placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Skyrim is a harsh land, and it makes harsh people, you're going to learn this, one way or another, no avoiding that."

Korra gave him a small smile at that, before they felt the ground shake. Korra pulled hard on Ralof's arm, just as the ceiling ahead of them gave way. Dust filled the corridor, and they both began coughing, "Damm, that dragon doesn't give up easy," Ralof commented.

Korra saw a door off to their left, "This way."

They proceeded through, and immediately ran into two more Imperials, who drew their blades upon sighting Ralof and Korra.

_Here we go again_, Korra thought despondently as she and Ralof readied for a fight.

* * *

"Wan Shi Tong?" Mako asked, "Really, the Spirits want us to go talk to him!?"

Tenzin nodded, "With the amount of knowledge gathered in his library, there's a good chance we may find out what happened to Korra."

"He won't help us," Jinora stated coldly, "He only let _me_ explore the library so I'd stay in one place, and he could bring Unalaq to me."

Tenzin heaved a sigh, "I happen to agree with you Jinora, but its either that or…" he trailed off as his eyes landed on Asami, who was sat on the other side of the fire from him, picking at her food, staring at her plate with unseeing eyes.

"Asami?" the young woman looked up at the sound of her name, "What do you think about all this?" Bolin asked.

Asami looked down at her plate again, a choked sob escaped her, "I just want her back… I can't bear the thought… of never seeing her again."

Opal rested her hand on Asami's back, and began rubbing gently, as Tenzin spoke. "It's settled then, we're off to Wan Shi Tong's library."

* * *

Korra smacked her fist across the torturer's face, causing him to whirl around and smack into the wall with a sickening _crunch_, that both flipped her stomach, and filled her with a small amount of vindictive pleasure. She winced as her shoulder throbbed from the electric burns it had suffered, and leant against one of the room's pillars as she inspected the wound.

_I hope this works_, she thought to herself, as she brought her other hand to her shoulder, willing it to heal. Suddenly, a bright golden light sprung into her hand, and the moment the light touched her wound, a soothing feeling spread across her shoulder. Korra breathed a sigh of relief, and was pleased to see a couple minutes later, that not only could she shut the healing magic off, but that the wound had now gone.

She then looked up as the Stormcloaks they had aided finished up with the torturer's assistant. Korra thought back over the last few minutes. She'd managed to spare the captain, and the young soldier that she and Ralof had encountered in the storeroom, but the torturer and his assistant were both dead. The very idea of killing turned her stomach, and made her want to throw up… Ralof and his crew didn't seem fazed at all by it though.

_They are warriors… this is something they've been doing for years now… and death has probably surrounded them for a lot longer than this war has been going on… possibly their entire lives._

She idly wondered, if she'd been born in this world, if she'd be as okay with killing as these people seemed to be.

_I mean, this does seem to be a kill or be killed mentality… those who don't fight, or have others to fight for them, end up dead._

Korra was broken from her thoughts by Ralof's voice, "Err lass, you may want to do something about that," he said, gesturing to her shoulder.

Korra frowned, "I did?" she replied, indicating the healed shoulder.

Ralof very suddenly looked away, his cheeks flushing red, as did the other two men in their party, "Not exactly what I meant lass."

Confused, Korra looked down at her shoulder herself. And figurative fire instantly hit her cheeks as she grasped Ralof's meaning. The lightning the torturer had thrown at her, had done more than injure her, it also irreparably damaged the ragged shirt she was wearing, almost completely exposing the left side of her torso, meaning she was showing a bit more cleavage than she was used to.

She quickly began looking around for something to wear, but there was nothing. Luckily, the other woman in their group came to her rescue. "Stop staring you pigs," she snapped, hands on hips as she glared at the three men, "Go and do something useful, like scout the way forward or watch our backs why don't you."

Ralof coughed nervously, "Yes, that sounds like a good idea," he grasped one of the guys by the shoulder and led him down the only other path available to them, other than the way back. "We'll scout ahead, see what's waiting for us," he called, while his companion protested.

The third man was more of a gentleman than Korra expected, respectfully nodding to the two of them, before heading back up the stairs to the storeroom to watch for pursuers. Korra gave the woman a small smile after they had left, "Thanks for that."

She smiled back, "No problem, now let's get you something to wear…" she trailed off as she had a look herself. Then her eyes lit up, as they fell on one of the large cages in the room, "Ahah, that will do nicely."

Korra watched her snatch up some lockpicks from a nearby table, before heading to the cage in question. Inside, was a man, dressed in strange robes, at first glance they reminded Korra of the priestess who'd been brought out for the last rights during the interrupted execution. There were obvious differences though, for one the outfit was made of multiple pieces, rather than the one that the priestess had worn. It also had various pockets and even pouches, that looked like they could store a variety of items.

The man wearing them was also, very, _very_, dead.

"Actually, could we try something else… I'm not comfortable with…"

The woman interrupted her though, "Nonsense… you need clothes, and it isn't like this guy needs them anymore… besides, do you see any other alternatives?"

Korra was chagrined to realise that she was right. Unless Korra wanted to go back through the entire Keep, this was her only option. She grimaced, "Fine, let's just get this over with… quickly."

The woman nodded, and quickly deprived the poor deceased captive of his robes. In the process, a small bag dropped out, along with a book and a mana potion. The bag made a clink when it hit the floor of the cage, and a few gold coins spilled out, while the book had a runic symbol on it, that looked oddly like lightning to Korra's eyes.

The woman ignored them for the moment, urging Korra to undress as she inspected the robes for dirt, blood and other contaminants. Finding none, she handed them to Korra, "All clean… well as clean as can be expected… I recommend washing them at the first opportunity, as well as yourself, but they should serve their purpose for now."

Korra sighed as she reluctantly began putting the robes on, "Fine then… I suppose I'll bear it."

The woman turned back to the cage, and swept up the bag, potion and book. Once Korra was dressed she handed them to Korra, "You may need these," she said, while handing her the bag of coins and the potion. "And considering your talents, you may want this," she completed, handing her the book.

Korra took all three, then she glanced at the coins, "Shouldn't we split this?"

The woman shook her head, "We all have steady income's, just need to make it back to Windhelm," she said. "You're the newcomer here… a little gold will help you get started," she added, then smiled, "Consider it thanks for taking care of that bastard over there," she stated, nodding to the dead torturer.

Korra scowled at him, "There's no need for practices like his in the world, _period_!"

The woman shrugged, "No argument from me… but I doubt the ones in power would agree."

With that done she called the man watching their backs. He soon answered, and fell into step behind them, as they went after Ralof and the other guy. It didn't take them long to catch up, the two were waiting at a hole in the wall that led into a tunnel. Ralof took note of Korra's new robes, "Mage robes… I suppose that's a good fit… considering your abilities."

Korra glanced at the robes, "Mage robes?" she then looked up at him, "Is there something special about them?"

Ralof nodded, "Their meant to enhance the wearer's magical abilities… make their magic stronger, or more efficient, that sort of thing."

Korra gave a small smile at that as she appraised her new outfit anew. Then Ralof got her attention, as he led them into the tunnel, briefing them on the Imperials that were ahead. "There's at least five, one patrolling along the raised walkway that runs around the left side of the cave, two are down on the cave floor, and the final two are on the far side of the walkway, opposite the entrance we'll come through… both have bows."

"And here's us without our shields," one of the other Stormcloaks grumbled.

"Or bows," another added.

By now, they had reached the end of the tunnel, and were staring into the cave ahead. Vision was not great, but Korra could see and hear enough to know what they were up against. Then something caught her eye. Where the two archers were stood, was a patch of ground that looked like it was slick with something.

"Is that water?" she whispered to Ralof, indicating the slick.

Ralof examined it himself, "No, by the gods, that's lamp oil," he breathed.

Korra blinked, "Lamp oil, as in… _flammable_?"

All four of them looked at her with weirded out expressions on their faces, and Korra mentally kicked herself. "Will catch fire very easily," she corrected, while summoning a small magical flame into her hand, before reassuring herself that she could shut it off.

Understanding crossed their faces, "Aye lass, that could work," Ralof replied. He glanced back at the cave, "Alright, here's the plan," he said, turning to them, "Me and Bjalfi," he indicated the big dark haired Nord next to him, "Will deal with the two in the centre on the cave floor." He then turned to the other male Nord in their group, "Asgeld will take on the patroller on the walkway…" next he turned back to Korra and the female Stormcloak. "While you and Freida, slip in between and take the two archers at the back," he finished.

"Why us!?" Freida demanded.

"Because you two are the lightest and fastest out of all of us, and stand the best chance of reaching those archers without taking an arrow in the knee," Bjalfi stated.

Ralof nodded, "And when you get close, Korra can open up with her magic, and hopefully, that should be enough… but if it isn't…"

"Freida will be right there to support me should something go wrong," Korra finished.

Ralof smiled and nodded, "Exactly lass," before drawing his axe. "FOR SKYRIM!"

The Imperials turned in shock as Ralof and Bjalfi charged from the tunnel entrance, heading directly for the two in the centre of the cave. The Imperial on the walkway, drew his blade and rushed to intercept them, only to be stopped by Asgeld. Korra and Freida skirted past the two of them, and rushed along the walkway, the archers spotted them instantly, and drew arrows to their bows.

"Keep moving," Freida cried, as arrows began to hit the wall both behind and ahead of them.

Korra didn't answer, except to conjure a flame in her hand. As they passed the second set of stairs leading down from the walkway to where Ralof and Bjalfi were engaged with the Imperials, she brought the hand up. Both Imperial archers noticed what she was doing, but only one realised what they were standing in, and quickly leapt clear rather than take another shot. Freida made straight for him, while Korra sent herself into a slide as the second archer fired again, the arrow flying so close above her head that she felt the breeze as it passed. Then she struck her flaming hand forward, and a gout of fire erupted from it, hitting the soldier and igniting the oil slick at his feet.

His screams filled the cave as Korra slid to a stop in front of him, guilt and bile rising up her throat, threatening to overwhelm her as tears filled her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said, as the burning man collapsed, as his screams turned into a guttural gurgling, before silence returned.

Korra turned away, as she stood, wiping her eyes. By then, Asgeld had finished off his opponent and had helped Ralof and Bjalfi against theirs. Korra turned to Freida and saw her finish off the second archer.

_So much death… Ralof's right… I can't escape it… it's kill or be killed._

Her eyes were drawn back to the man she'd just incinerated.

_Just like Lucius… only this time deliberately… but if I hadn't done it… then as now… they would have killed me._

The bile rose again, and this time, Korra couldn't keep it down. She staggered away from the corpse and placed one hand against the cave wall, before beginning to retch, bringing up what little had been in her stomach. As she heaved out her stomach's contents, a comforting hand was placed on her back, and began to gently rub. Korra glanced to the side and saw Freida giving her a smile filled with pity, and reassurance.

"Does it get easier?" Korra croaked as she gained control of her bowls again.

"Yes… but that's not necessarily a good thing," Freida replied.

"The important thing to remember lass, is that its not murder, if you're fighting for your survival," Ralof called, after he and the others finished off the remaining Imperials. "If we hadn't killed them, they'd have killed us… that's just the way things are… remember that, and as you said, respect the fallen… and you should be fine."

Korra nodded and smiled at that, as she stood up, Asgeld handed her a water skin plucked from one of the Imperials. She drank greedily to wash away the taste of bile.

"You two keep going," Bjalfi said, "We're going to stay here and wait for Ulfric… with luck we'll be right behind you."

"Alright, good luck brothers, sister," Ralof replied, nodding to the three of them, which they returned.

"And to you," Freida returned, "Both of you," she added, as she clasped Korra's arm.

Korra nodded, "Thank you… for everything," Freida smiled and nodded, as the two of them set off down the next tunnel, lowering a bridge and proceeding into the cave beyond. They'd just reached the other side, when another roar shook the cave, and the tunnel separating them from the others, collapsed, cutting them off.

"Damm, no going back that way now," Ralof growled.

"What do we do, we can't just leave them!?" Korra cried.

"No choice, their going to have to find another way out," Ralof replied, drawing his axe and lighting a torch.

"But…" Korra tried.

"Don't worry lass, they'll be fine, now come on," he called over his shoulder, as he led the way deeper into the cave, searching for a way out.

Reluctantly, Korra followed.

The journey through the cave was harrowing to say the least, massive spiders harassed them each step of the way, and a large bear had made its home near the entrance. Despite all that, they made it, and the light of day and the clear blue sky was a welcome sight as they staggered from the cave. Just as they began to relax, the sound of massive wings reached them.

"Get down!" Ralof hissed, ducking behind a rock, Korra joining him.

The dragon flew overhead, uttering another roar as it flew off to the north, over a mountain in the distance.

"Looks like he's gone for good this time," Ralof sighed. Korra slumped against the rock, breathing out in relief, "Come on, this place will be swarming with Imperials soon, we'd better not stay here," he stated, holding out his hand to Korra.

Korra took it and rose to her feet with his aid, "Where to now?"

"To Riverwood, my sister Gerdur owns the lumber mill there, she'll take us in for sure, be a safe place to hole up for a few days," Ralof answered.

"You really think that's safe?"

"So long as we're ahead of the news from Helgen, we should be fine," Ralof replied, as he started down the game trail, into the river valley below.

Korra, having few other options, followed him.

"You know, you should join the fight to help free Skyrim, we could use someone with your talents," Ralof stated. "And you've seen the true face of the Empire here today," he finished.

Korra mulled that over, before replying, "Sorry, but I just want to get home… I admire your fight for freedom, but…" Korra trailed off, before sighing. "This isn't my home… this isn't my fight, and I have people waiting for me, people who need me."

Ralof gave her an appraising look, "Fair enough I suppose… but if that doesn't work out, know that you'll always be welcome in Windhelm."

Korra smiled and nodded.

The rest of their descent down the mountain road was mostly done in silence. At one point they reached an overlook of a lake, on the other side of which was the mountain the dragon flew over. Perched on the mountain's slopes was a large ruin, that Ralof identified as Bleak Falls Barrow. Further down the road they discovered three large standing stones, each carved with a different picture. Ralof told her that these were the Guardian Stones, three of thirteen that dotted Skyrim's landscape, and said to grant boons to worthy heroes.

As she stared at them, Korra was drawn to the central stone, which was carved with a picture of a man in robes, holding a staff aloft. Korra laid her hand on the stone, and it began to glow, before a brilliant beam of light shot into the sky for a few moments.

"Guess that doesn't surprise me," Ralof said behind Korra, she turned to see him grinning, before he shrugged, "Eh to each their own, it's not my place to judge."

They then continued on, the road now running alongside the river which fed out of the lake. They had a close encounter with some wolves, but other than that, the rest of their journey was uneventful. When they reached Riverwood, Korra was met with a quaint little village, protected by three partial walls which faced the most direct routes into the village – north, south and east – but didn't stretch around it entirely, there were also no gates.

It was also much smaller than Helgen had been. Helgen had been comprised of at least a dozen different buildings, including the keep and towers. Riverwood had no keep and no towers, and the entire settlement hugged the river it was situated alongside of. There were seven buildings in total, the largest was at the far end of the village to the entrance that Korra and Ralof used and looked to be an Inn. Korra could just make out a sign hanging off the awning that said, 'Sleeping Giant Inn'. Going down from the Inn, along the road that led through the village, was a house on the left, with a forge attached to the end closest to them. On the right, a two-story square building with another sign, that said 'Riverwood Trader'. There was then a house directly to their right, and two others sitting further up behind that and the Riverwood Trader, with the furthest house being the largest. The last building sat on a small island in the middle of the river, this was the lumber mill Ralof had mentioned.

All in all, it was nice, a peaceful little place.

"Come on, this way," Ralof said as he took Korra across one of the bridges that led onto the island with the mill.

As they crossed, Korra heard a woman's voice call out, "A dragon, I saw a dragon."

Korra turned her head to see an old woman calling out to a young man with blond hair, "What is it now mother?" he asked.

"It was as big as the mountain and as black as night, it flew right over the barrow!"

"Dragons now is it; you know mother if you're not careful people around here will think you're crazy."

Korra bristled at that.

_That thing must have flown almost directly over this place, how do you __**MISS**__ seeing something like that!?_

But Ralof was leading her on, so she was not able to catch the rest of the conversation, or correct the man and defend his mother.

The mill seemed to be a hub of activity, as several people worked around the area. Two men, a Nord and an Elf seemed to be hauling logs into a runner, before the Nord activated the mill's mechanisms, causing two prongs poking up through the runner, to push the log forward into a moving saw, slicing it in half. Korra was actually surprised by the level of technological innovation on display, though in hindsight, she supposed it made sense, the river turned the massive water wheel of the mill, which no doubt powered the mechanisms within, either way, she was impressed.

Then Ralof's voice drew Korra's attention forward, "Gerdur!"

Korra turned to see a blond woman wearing a simple brown dress and white under-dress, working at a table not far away, as she and Ralof rounded the back of the mill. "Ralof!?" she called back, surprise writ across her face, "Mara's Mercy, it's good to see you! but is it safe for you to be here?"

"Gerdur…" Ralof replied, placatingly.

"We heard that Ulfric had been captured…" Gerdur continued, her tone still filled with worry.

"Gerdur… I'm fine, at least now I' am," Ralof assured.

Gerdur did not look convinced, "Are you hurt? What's happened…" she then glanced at Korra, her brow furrowing in suspicion as she took note of Korra's darker skin tone. "And who is this? One of your comrades?"

Ralof gave a small smile, "Not a comrade yet… but a friend, I owe her my life in fact." Gerdur's eyes widened at that, and she appraised Korra anew, suspicion not gone, but certainly reduced. Ralof's voice then caught her attention again, "Is there somewhere we can talk?" he asked, "There's no telling when the news from Helgen will reach the Imperials."

Her eyes snapped to Ralof again, worry filling them, "Helgen? Has something happened…?" at the dark look on Ralof's face, Gerdur nodded in understanding, "You're right, follow me." She turned and began walking to the northern tip of the small river island, as she did, she called out to one of the men in the mill, "Hod, come here a minute, I need your help with something!"

The Nord mad who'd been working in the mill stepped up to the front edge, over the pile of sliced logs, "What is it woman… is Sven drunk on the job again?"

Gerdur turned to him, annoyed, "Hod just come here," she replied, nodding to Ralof.

Hod's eyes widened at the sight of him, "Ralof, what are you doing here? Ah… I'll be right down!"

Gerdur led them to an old tree stump just beyond the northern bridge, they were just about to settle down, when a young boy with a dog, ran up to them. "Uncle Ralof, can I see your axe? How many Imperials have you killed? Do you really know Ulfric Stormcloak?"

Korra blinked in bemusement at the kid's questions, all of them pertained to the war, but were delivered with such innocence it made Korra's heart ache.

_If the civil war continues for long enough, he'll see first-hand what the war is like._

That dark thought was broken by Gerdur, "Hush Frodnar, this is no time for your games," she stated imperiously, "Go and watch the south road, find us if you see any Imperial soldiers coming."

The boy immediately looked put out, "Aww but mama, I want to stay and talk to uncle Ralof!"

Ralof gave a beaming smile at the boy, "Look at you, almost a grown man, won't be long before you'll be joining the fight yourself."

He said the words with pride, but Korra could detect the hint of remorse behind them.

_As much as he wants to free Skyrim, he doesn't want to subject his nephew to the horrors of war._

Frodnar now beamed back at Ralof, his young chest pumping out with pride, "That's right, don't worry uncle Ralof, I won't let those soldiers sneak up on you!" he declared, running off with his dog hot on his heels.

As he left, Hod arrived, "Now Ralof, what's going on? You two look pretty well-done in."

As he spoke, Ralof sat heavily on the tree stump, Korra joined him, sitting directly on the ground, back resting against the stump. "I can't remember the last time I slept," he started, "Well the news you heard about Ulfric was true. The Imperials ambushed us outside Darkwater Crossing… like they knew _exactly_ where we'd be."

_Darkwater Crossing_, Korra mused, filing the name away in her memory.

"That was… two days ago now," Ralof continued, "We stopped in Helgen this morning, and I thought it was all over."

"Speak for yourself," Korra muttered, rubbing her neck subconsciously as the memory of being on the chopping block came back. When she brought her hand away, it was to find trace amounts of blood still on it, Korra grimaced, before a water skin was held in front of her by Hod. She nodded in thanks, and cleaned her neck.

Ralof nodded at Korra's words before continuing, "Had us lined up for the headsmen's block and ready to start chopping!"

A scowl crossed Gerdur's face, "The cowards!" she spat.

"They wouldn't dare give Ulfric a fair trial… treason, for fighting for your own people!" Ralof declared, "All of Skyrim would have seen the truth then…" Ralof trailed off as the memories replayed in his head, "But then… out of nowhere… a dragon attacked."

Both Hod and Gerdur's faces became masks of shock, "You don't mean a real, live…" Gerdur trailed off as the look on Ralof's face answered her partial question.

"I can hardly believe it myself, and I was there," he said.

"As strange as it sounds, we'd both be dead if it weren't for that dragon," Korra stated beside him.

Ralof nodded, "In the confusion we managed to slip away… are we really the first to make it to Riverwood?"

"Nobody has come up the south road today, as far as I know," Gerdur replied.

"Good… maybe we can lay up for a while," Ralof said, "I hate to put your family in danger, Gerdur, but…"

"Nonsense," Gerdur cut him off, "You and your friend are welcome to stay as long as you need… let me worry about the Imperials." Ralof nodded in thanks as Gerdur turned to Korra, "Any friend of Ralof's is a friend of mine," she fished out a key as she spoke, "Here's the spare key to the house, stay as long as you like."

Korra took it, but looked unsure, "I don't want to impose."

Gerdur smiled, "You won't be, we have plenty of room and at least a couple spare cots and bedrolls for you to use." Korra smiled at that and nodded, "Besides, if you feel like you need to earn your keep, you can help us at the mill, we always need extra hands around here."

"I'll think about it," Korra replied as she and Ralof stood back up.

"Thanks sister, I knew we could count on you."

Gerdur smiled at that, before her look turned sombre, "I ought to get back to work before I'm missed, but did anyone else escape? Did Ulfric…" she trailed off, a look of worry on her face.

"Don't worry," Ralof assured, "I'm sure he made it out… it'll take more than a dragon to stop Ulfric Stormcloak."

"I'll let them into the house and, you know, show them were everything is," Hod stated.

Gerdur gained a knowing look as she glanced at her husband, "Hmm, help them drink up our mead you mean."

All of them had good laugh at that, besides, after the day Korra had so far, she could use a drink… or two.

The rest of the day, Korra spent settling in. Gerdur showed her where the women's bathing area was, and she set about washing herself and the mages robes she'd acquired. Gerdur also gave Korra a spare set of clothes, similar to her own, for Korra to wear while the robes were drying. Come the evening, she enjoyed a meal with the family, before turning in for the night on the cot they had provided for her.

Even after everyone else had fallen asleep – the sounds of Hod and Ralof's snores filling the large house – Korra stared at the ceiling.

In just a few days, her entire world had been turned upside down, and inside out. She'd lost her bending, but gained a new ability, that people of this world called magic, and she'd have to learn how to use it from scratch, as it seemed to operate on a totally different set of rules to bending. The world she was currently in was a far more hostile one to what she was used to, and was filled with dangerous creatures, like dragons, trolls, and many others, that she had heard stories about over dinner.

Korra placed one arm over her eyes, and saw Asami's smiling face in her memory.

"I will find a way back Asami, I promise, no matter how long it takes… no matter what I have to do… I will come back… I promise," she whispered to the dark, before the exhaustion of the day, finally caught up to her, and she fell asleep, in this strange new world.

* * *

**To be Continued**

**And that's it for today folks, hope you enjoyed, please let me know what you think in your reviews, again, constructive critisicm is welcome.**

**Also, just to get this out of the way now, Korra is _way, Way, WAY_, out of her element at the moment, I wanted confusion, shock and desperation from her, and I hope succeeded in conveying that. As Korra gets more used to Skyrim and the way Tamriel works, we'll see more of her usual attitude return, but right now, she's adrift and lost in a world she has little to no knowledge of.**

**Also, I'd like to know what you guys think, should I keep Korra unarmed with just her magic, or do you think a weapon like a spear might work better for her. Please let me know in your reviews.**

**That's it for now, and I'll see you all next time ; )**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, this story exists purely because I want it to**

**(Stormhawk fan SHhype comes running in from stage right, out of breath)**

**Whoooo, this one took a while... (takes a moment to catch breath)**

**HELLO EVERYONE, yes I' am alive and staying healthy and I hope you all are too. As you've guessed we are BACK with another update to Korra's adventure in Skyrim. So first things first, be sure you put aside a good slot of time to read this one, maybe grab yourself a drink, something to eat, cause this one is a LONG one. I didn't even mean for it to come out this long, it just sorta did, there were several things I wanted to have happen this chapter, and cutting them out would have made things difficult moving forward... so yea, ANOTHER 15,000 word chapter. I don't intend to have them be this long moving forward so I'm going to try to limit myself to just 10,000 words per chapter, let's hope I can stick to it.**

**With that out the way, let's get to reviews.**

**Guest: Apparently not my friend, but it'll be a while till we get to the Thalmor A** kicking, so please be patient, it _shall_ be rewarded.**

**Kopol: (Rubs back of head sheepishly) Yea okay, I _may_ have gone a little overboard last chapter on that, BUT, in my defence, the whole Helgen bit is a very _integral_ part of the story, and I did try to spice things up a bit with some of my own additions. I'm going to try and use as little of the game script as I can moving forward, again, sticking ONLY to bits that are _vital_ to story progression, but I will say that since Korra is basically the chosen for Dragon Born, following the story is kind of a must, but I'll do my best to twist things around and give it a unique edge that keeps it interesting.**

**OMAC001 + Guest: Okay, first up, I'd like to apologise because... I was a big dumb DOOFAS! I _completely _forgot that I had always intended to give Korra a spear, as, you know, Water Tribe, kinda fit the motif. So _yea_ I messed up big time, so I'm sorry about that guys, still, thank you very much for your input, I took BOTH of your reviews into consideration when writing this chapter. As for the spear, I did mention it at the very beginning of the first chapter, in the prologue, when the dark haired, gold eyed figure (yes I know you Skyrim fans know who it is sssshhh!) was examining the _slightly_ altered drawing of Alduin's Wall... and Korra will find said spear _this_ chapter.**

**Speaking of, I've dropped a couple of little titbits you guys will enjoy picking apart for secrets and clues, and YES, there will be more of these moving forward. Finally I just want to say, I've not been in a relationship before, so I have no experience in that regard, however I have seen very well written relationships in various forms of fiction, so I'm basing my knowledge off of those... I say this because well... _stuff_, is happening with Asami this chapter... _heavy stuff_. Please let me know how I did, and what, if anything needs improvement in this area, after all, that's what reviews are for... now... ON WITH THE SHOW!**

**Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Dear Readers all... welcome back to...**

**P.s. I'm trying out a new spacing technique for the scene changes which I've seen another writer use, please let me know what you guys think, is it easier to read, etc, thanks ; )**

**P.p.s Advanced warning to all readers, there are scenes in this chapter containing mature themes including attempted sexual assault (don't worry Korra's fine), as well as some gore. If you do not wish to view this things please return to your previous page.**

* * *

**Avatar: The Legend of Korra**

**Book 5: Skyrim**

Chapter 3: A Strange New World: Part 2 – Bleakfalls Barrow

"What do you mean the Avatar is missing!?" President Raiko exclaimed.

"A creature… something we've never seen before, ambushed Korra and her friends while they were helping a nearby settlement in the mountains," Tenzin explained. "It managed to separate Korra from the others, before dragging her through the portal it had come through."

"Was this portal somehow related to the Spirits?" Zuko asked, having come to Republic city on behalf of his daughter, to ascertain the details of the situation.

Tenzin shook his head, "The local Spirits have already looked into that for us, and so far as they can tell… this creature was in no way connected to the spirit world… it may in fact have been from an entirely different world altogether."

The room and all the dignitaries that were gathered, stared at him in shock. "What does this mean Tenzin… will there be another Avatar?" Desna asked, his sister sitting next to him.

"No," Tenzin replied, "At least not yet… Korra didn't die, so her Avatar spirit hasn't been reborn into the next nation in the cycle." Tenzin paused as he took a breath, "And as tragic as her death might have been… that honestly may have been easier… we don't even know what her current condition is… or if Raava can even get back here should something happen to Korra… meaning…"

"That this could break the Avatar cycle," Zuko finished, intimately aware of the consequences of that.

"Exactly," Tenzin said, nodding, "As such, we need more information… so I'll be departing to the spirit world with the rest of Team Avatar… our destination… Wan Shi Tong's Spirit library."

The various dignitaries exchanged looks, "What good will that do?" Raiko asked.

"Wan Shi Tong might have information we can use to bring Korra back, at the very least, it's a place to start, because right now…" Tenzin trailed off, not wanting to give voice to the words in his head.

"Right now, we have no Avatar," Eska completed, "Which means we have no defence, should the creature that took her decide to come back… or if any other spirit or person decides to take advantage of this situation."

Tenzin nodded, sombrely, "We need Korra back, the sooner the better, any lead we can chase down must become our highest priority."

**]|[**

The axe came down with a thunk, biting into the stump, and cleaving the short log neatly in half.

Korra shook off the still lingering memory of the execution at Helgen, as she picked up the two halves of the log and placed them on a nearby pile.

_Maybe working at the lumber mill was a bad idea._

She stood up straight, dressed in an outfit similar to Gerdur's – it was actually one of Gerdur's spares – and looked around. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, birds were singing, and yet, Korra took no joy from any of it, not when Asami's face still hung in her mind's eye.

_Five days now, five days since I came to Riverwood, and I still haven't found a way back._

Korra was becoming more than a little irritated with the situation, but there was little to be done. The people of Riverwood had no experience or use for magic, it was a simple village where the people lived simple, ordinary lives. Korra had not been idle for the last five days though. She had taken Gerdur's offer of a job at the lumber mill, more for the physical exertion than the coin, the exercise helped Korra take her mind off her current predicament. Her spare time was spent training with Ralof behind Hod and Gerdur's house. The man had insisted that if Korra was to set off into the rest of Skyrim, then she needed to become proficient with a blade, or any weapon for that matter. Korra had protested, but when Gerdur had reluctantly backed her brother up, she had relented. Korra now had a basic grasp of both a bow and a short blade, though she still preferred using her unarmed combat skills, though without her bending, those skills weren't nearly as effective.

Stretching the kinks out of her back, she gathered up the split logs and began bundling them up. With that done, she placed the bundle with the growing pile of bundles next to the table where Gerdur handled the logistics of the whole operation, she then turned towards the mill where Hod and Ralof were.

"Hod, I'm done with these, gonna take a break!" she called up to them.

Hod poked his head around the massive logs that sat on one side of the mill, his eyes widened at seeing the large pile of bundles Korra had amassed. "Fair enough lass, good job, we're going to get through half a dozen more of these then break for lunch, your welcome to join us," he called back.

Korra nodded, as she made her way over to the table, picking up the spell book Frieda had given her back in Helgen Keep. Korra had put off reading it for a couple of days, she'd always preferred a practical approach to learning, so she had decided to jump straight in and just practice her magic. Needless to say, there had been… _accidents_, no one hurt thank goodness, but afterwards everyone – even Korra – had agreed she should probably read up on how to use magic first before doing it. So, over the last few days, it had become a common sight to see Korra laying in the grass at the head of the island, nose buried in the magic book, or practicing what she learned from it, and today was no exception. Today, Korra intended to finally try out the Sparks spell that the book was actually about.

She sat in the grass to start with and turned to the page she'd marked. As she began to read, her mind was taken back to a recent memory with Asami. Her girlfriend had just purchased a new novel. Korra had never understood Asami's fascination with them, and said as much, at which point, Asami had plucked one of her many novels off a nearby shelf and pushed it into Korra's hands, saying that she should give it a try. Korra did so and found herself still reading the book Asami had given her several hours later, when Asami told her that dinner was ready. Korra had been so stunned by how much time had gone by, as well as how much of the book she'd already read – she got about three quarters of the way through – when Asami interrupted her. Asami had given Korra a good needling about the whole thing, laughing when Korra's face had lit up in a spectacular blush, but had made it up afterwards by opening up a whole new experience to Korra with the many books she had available.

Korra gave a soft sigh as the memory played through her mind, then shook herself and focused on the book in front of her, carefully reading through the ins and outs of casting the spell. Once she felt she was ready, she placed the book on the nearby tree stump, and then stood, facing away from the village. She took a deep breath, before bringing her hands up. Her last two days of study had revealed to her, that magic lived deep inside those with the ability, and that to use it, one called upon this energy, and allowed it to rise to the surface. Then it was simply a matter of willpower, envisioning what you wanted that energy to do, and how you wanted it to behave. After her first few attempts, Korra had likened it to her first few months after she got Naga when the polar bear dog was just a pup. It had been Korra's responsibility to train Naga, if she let the pup have too much freedom, then Naga had possessed a tendency to wreck everything in sight, too little and the pup became withdrawn and meek, Korra had needed to get the balance _just_ right.

It was the same with magic, too much power, and it was liable to blow up in her face, too little and it wouldn't come, or would be so weak it could barely do what it was intended for. So, as she stood and called up the energy from within, she was careful to only give it so much, but didn't try to suppress it, but let it flow naturally. As she felt the magic reach her hands, she envisioned sparks of electricity crackling around her hands, much the same as when she bent lightning. To her joy, the sparks ignited, flickering around her hands. It was an odd feeling, the primal part of her mind said that the sparks should be hurting her, but instead, all Korra felt was a strange tingling sensation. She marvelled at her own hands for a couple minutes, before stretching her arms in front of her, and willing the sparks to leap from them.

On que, the sparks leapt forward, crackling in the air in front of her, Korra could tell instinctively that they weren't very powerful, certainly not to the same degree as her lightning bending had been, but it was a start. She pulled her hands back as she cut the flow, and the sparks returned to her hand, before dying completely. Korra took a deep breath, going through the meditation techniques Tenzin had taught her. New world or not, Korra had already learned that it had many similarities with her own, so she had put her old training to good use, keeping herself calm and centred. Rushing off recklessly was liable to get her killed, so she would just take things one step at a time.

That was how Ralof and Hod found her, sitting cross-legged on the stump meditating, it wasn't the first time they'd seen her do this, but they still found the behaviour odd, which wasn't surprising, they had nothing really to compare it to. So Korra quickly ended her meditation session and joined them for lunch. As they ate, Ralof regaled them with war stories from his service with the Stormcloaks, Korra suspected that the tales were embellished, but appreciated them, nonetheless. After lunch Hod and Ralof headed back to the mill, while Korra made her way back to Hod and Gerdur's house.

"I'm back," Korra called as she walked in the door.

"Ah Korra, just in time," Gerdur replied as she came around the corner to where her and Hod's bed was, a basket of laundry under one arm. "Think you can take the other one and give me a hand," she asked indicating the second basket, "Job will get done twice as fast that way."

Korra nodded, "Sure, could use the wash anyway."

With that, Laundry baskets under arm, and a change of clothes slung over shoulder, they made their way from the house back to the river, and the women's bathing area specifically, a small sheltered section of riverbank, where the water flowed calm and slow, and was protected on either side by tall brush. They made idle chatter while they worked, Korra had actually really grown to like Gerdur. While the Imperial Captain from Helgen had sounded similar to Lin, Gerdur actually _reminded_ Korra of Lin, or well, the Lin Korra imagined if she'd settled down and had a family. The memory of Republic City's chief of police caused a small ache in Korra's chest, as it called other memories to the surface, and she felt a solitary tear run down her cheek.

"Korra, are you okay?" Gerdur suddenly asked.

Korra quickly wiped the tear away, "Yea, I'm fine… just old memories, that's all."

Gerdur gave her a sympathetic look, Korra hadn't told them much about where she came from – mostly since that they either wouldn't believe her or understand her – but she'd told them as much as she thought she could. As a result, Gerdur had drawn her own conclusions as to how Korra had ended up in Skyrim, and had promised Korra all the support she needed to get back on her feet, so she could find her way home again, something which Korra was immensely grateful for.

After they'd finished with the laundry, they both took a quick bath themselves, before gathering up their things and returning to the house. They were just passing the trader when Gerdur stopped, "Oh I almost forgot, I need some things from the trader," she said, fishing out a list and a small bag of coin.

"I can grab them," Korra offered.

"Would you," Gerdur said in relief, to which Korra just nodded, just then Frodnar ran past them with his dog. "Frodnar, can you take Korra's basket please," Frodnar stopped, clearly put out that his game had been interrupted, but didn't argue, and quickly came back.

"Thanks, Frodnar," Korra said as she handed him her basket.

"No problem," he replied, as Gerdur handed Korra the list and money, before leading the way back to the house.

Korra chuckled, then turned to the trader and went inside.

She was greeted instantly by an argument.

"Well one of us has to do something!?"

Korra pulled up short as she took in the sight of the Valerius siblings standing either side of the counter, glaring at each other.

"I said NO, no theatrics, NO thief chasing!" Lucan shot back.

"Well what are you going to do about this, let's hear it?" Camilla replied testily.

"We are DONE talking about this!" Lucan declared, before noticing Korra standing in the doorway, "Oh a customer… sorry you had to hear that," he replied dejectedly while glaring at his sister who stalked away.

Korra approached the counter warily, glancing between the siblings, before Lucan caught her attention, "I don't know what you heard, but the Riverwood Trader is still open for business, feel free to shop."

At his words, Korra was reminded of why she was here, "Oh right, Gerdur gave me a list of things she needs," Korra said, placing the list onto the counter along with the bag of coin.

"Ah, that must be her weekly purchase, yes, I have it right here," Lucan declared, as he turned and pulled a small package from a shelf behind him, before placing it on the counter. "There we go, everything should be accounted for," Lucan said, picking up the list, "Spices, herbs – both culinary and medicinal – some bandages, new sowing thread, and three sweet rolls."

Korra smiled, "Great, thanks," she said, gathering up the package as Lucan took the bag of coin. Korra was just about to head out, when another object on the shelves caught her eye. "Is that a magic book?"

Lucan followed her gaze, "Why yes, it is, Frostbite I believe."

"How much?" Korra asked.

Lucan mulled it over, "Well while it is a novice level spell, books like these are still a rarity out here, so I'd say, 250 gold pieces."

Korra quickly pulled out her own coin pouch, and checked how much she had, she was short by about 70 coins, "Will 180 do?"

Lucan again, mulled it over, on the one hand he'd be selling the book for less than it's worth, on the other hand, Korra was probably the only person in the village who was interested in buying it, then an idea came to him. "Perhaps, but I'd need you to run an errand for me first," he said.

"Errand?"

"Yes, you see, we did have a bit of a, break in," Lucan explained awkwardly, "Still got plenty to sell, robbers were only after one thing." At Korra's raised eyebrow he elaborated, "An ornament, solid gold in the shape of dragon's claw."

Korra caught on quickly, "You want me to get it back for you?"

"Would you," he replied, elated, "If you do, the book's yours for half price, and I'll even throw in some extras for any further adventuring you may find yourself on."

Korra mulled it over for a bit, on the one hand, it seemed rather a chore for a basic spell, but at the same time, she did need to learn as much as she could. And to top it off, she couldn't simply let the thieves who broke into the trader get away with it… not when she could do something about it. The memory of that night in the restaurant with Asami came back, and it hardened Korra's resolve. Right path or not, this felt like a sign of something, and she was going to follow it.

"Mr Valerius, you got yourself a deal," she said, smiling.

Lucan returned the smile, "Excellent… now if you're going to catch those thieves…" he began, but was cut off as his sister Camilla interjected into the conversation.

"So, this is your plan Lucan?"

"Yes, now you don't have to go," Lucan replied imperiously.

Camilla merely smirked at him, "Oh really, well I think your new helper here could use a guide."

Korra had to hold back a snort of laughter at Lucan's incredulous look, "By the Eight… FINE, but only to the edge of town!"

"I need to grab some things anyway," Korra replied, before turning to Camilla, "Give me ten minutes and I'll meet you outside the forge."

Camilla nodded, as Korra left her to argue with her brother, and quickly took Gerdur's package back to the house.

**]|[**

The airship moved towards the Spirit portal that now sat at the centre of Republic City. Normally, the airships steered well clear of it, but this was not a normal occurrence. Team Avatar stood on the bridge of the ship, all staring towards the portal.

"This isn't… ya know, going to tear the ship in half or anything… is it?" Bolin asked awkwardly.

"If it does, we probably won't have time to worry about it," Mako replied, not helping his brother's complexion any.

"The Spirits promised us safe passage, we should be fine," Tenzin explained, "And if what Jinora has told us about the Library is true, we'll need the appropriate transportation."

With that, the airship began to enter the portal.

**]|[**

"You're doing what!?" Gerdur asked.

"Heading after a bunch of thieves who stole Lucan's golden claw," Korra answered.

Gerdur gave her a serious look, "Are you sure that's a good idea, I mean, you don't know what you'll run into… you'd risk your life all for an ornament?"

Korra stopped, looking up from the backpack she'd acquired during her last few days here, which was now filled with various essentials she'd need. "I know it seems reckless," she started.

"Understatement," Gerdur quipped.

Korra rolled her eyes, "But I can't explain it… it's like something is pushing me to follow this… besides, I never let thieves get away with their actions back home, and I intend to stick to that track record."

Gerdur sighed, "There's no talking you out of this, is there?" Korra shook her head as she finished packing her things, slinging the bag over one shoulder, and adjusting the hood of her mages robes – Gerdur had helped her refit them for Korra's frame, and they had also added a fur lining to the hood and arms.

"Not really, no," Korra replied.

Gerdur nodded, then went over to a chest, from which she pulled a hunting bow, a quiver of about twenty iron arrows, and a short iron sword. She turned to Korra with the items, "Then at least take these," she stated.

Korra eyed the weapons, feeling her stomach churn at the mere sight of them, yes, she knew how to use them now, but that didn't mean she wanted to. "Gerdur…" Korra began before the older woman cut her off.

"I'm not taking no for an answer," she declared, "Those bandits won't hesitate to kill you if they get the chance… not to mention the mountain will be home to wolves and other wild animals, and don't get me started on the Draugr."

Korra looked at her quizzically, "Draugr?"

"Undead guardians of places like Bleakfalls Barrow," Gerdur explained, "Relentless, merciless, and, probably immune to that fancy hand to hand combat you love so much."

Korra blinked, "It's called Chi Bending… and so long as the target has muscles and a brain, it will be effected by it."

Gerdur shook her head, "Not the Draugr, their basically corpses Korra… you can't expect them to follow the same rules."

Korra hesitated, before heaving a sigh, and reaching out for the weapons, "Alright fine, if it makes you happy, I'll take them… just don't expect them to be used."

Gerdur simply smiled as she helped Korra strap the sword to her belt, and then the quiver over her shoulder. "So long as you have more options available to you for defending yourself, that's all that matters," Gerdur replied.

Korra nodded and smiled, before hugging the older woman, "Thank you, for everything."

Gerdur smiled and hugged Korra back, "Your welcome Korra, just promise me you'll come back safely."

As they broke the hug, Korra gave the woman a lopsided smile, "Count on it."

With that, she headed out, waving back to Gerdur as she headed down towards the river. Gerdur waved back, until Korra rounded the corner of the Trader, and was lost from sight.

Camilla was waiting for Korra outside the trader, giving her a broad smile at the sight of Korra all geared up. "So, we need to cross the river to get to Bleakfalls Barrow," Camilla began as Korra reached her, "We can see it from here though, the old ruin up on the mountain, you can see it over the buildings."

Korra followed where she pointed, once again gazing upon the massive ruin perched up on the mountain that overlooked the village. "Right, let's get going then," Korra replied, and they both began walking up the road to the north, and out of the village.

Camilla made some idle chatter about the bandits, and how crazy they were to hide in the ruins, as well as a remark about her brother, and him finding the claw. Korra was only half listening, her attention was more focused on adjusting to the weight of the sword and bow she was now carrying, as well as running through the spells she currently knew. In no time at all they reached the bridge at the northern end of the village.

"Well here we are, this bridge leads out of the village, and the trail up the mountain will take you all the way to Bleakfalls Barrow," Camilla declared.

Korra nodded "Right, thanks."

As Korra double checked she had everything, she heard Camilla give another comment about returning to her brother. Korra simply gave a nod as the woman left, then glanced back at her as she passed into the village again, "Real chatter box that one," Korra remarked, before hoisting her pack higher, and set off across the bridge.

**]|[**

Team Avatar gazed in wonder as they soared through the skies of the Spirit World, watching as spirits and other creatures, danced through the air around them. "Okay Jinora, where to?" Kai asked as he steered the airship.

Jinora moved to the front of the airship, and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. The others watched as her Airbender tattoos glowed briefly, before she opened her eyes, and looked out to the right of the ship, towards what looked like mountains in the distance, covered in massive trees. "There, the Library is in the centre of that formation," she declared.

Kai gave a nod, and began turning the airship in its direction.

As they came about, a streak of light, flew in through one of the windows, phasing through it, before Yara appeared on the deck. _"I wish you luck in you mission,"_ she began, drawing nods from all of them.

"Thank you Yara, we'll do our best," Tenzin replied.

Yara returned the nods, _"Just be warned, Wan Shi Tong knows your coming… do not expect a warm welcome."_

"Don't worry, we can handle ourselves," Mako stated, with a murmur of agreement from the others.

Yara nodded again, before leaving the way she came, while the airship, continued on its way, to Wan Shi Tong's Library.

**]|[**

Korra pulled her hood down tighter around her as the chill wind bit at her cheeks. She'd been surprised at how much colder it was just a little way further up the mountain. Down in the valley where Riverwood was located, the weather had felt like early spring, crisp yes, but the sun shone warmly enough that it could be ignored. Up here though, the wind had picked up, and now it felt closer to winter. Korra made a mental note to make her outfit more suited to colder environments later. She glanced back down into the valley, and saw the village laid out before her, like toy houses, she'd already climbed a long way. She'd had a close call with a wolf earlier, but a decent smack to the animal's nose had sent it packing with its tail quite literally between its legs. As she continued up the mountain trail, she spotted a tower off in the distance, squinting, she could also make out movement next to it.

_I can't have caught up to them already, right?_

Korra approached cautiously, but boldly, not making an effort to hide, she didn't really have the right colouration for stealth anyway, her light brown and orange clothing would be easily picked out against the white of the snowy landscape. She had almost reached the tower, when one of the bandits standing guard outside, spotted her, standing up straight from where he'd been leaning against a tree, and picking up a large iron warhammer. Korra also noticed another bandit who had been patrolling the bridge, that led to the tower, unsling a bow, and notch and arrow to it.

"Turn back stranger, you're not welcome here," the first bandit declared in a gruff gravelly voice. Korra noticed that his skin was green in hue, and he had two fangs jutting up from his lower jaw. His head was bald apart from a top knot that sat on the crown of his head, pointing skywards.

_An Orc_, Korra mused, having heard about them from Ralof.

Korra help her hands up to show she was not a threat, "Easy now, I'm not here to fight, I just came to retrieve Lucan's golden claw, do you guys have it?"

The Orc gave a snort, "Nah, we don't, but even if we did, we wouldn't be giving it back after we stole it… now, GET LOST!"

The archer drew his bow to full length, Korra noted he was a Wood Elf like Faendal from Riverwood, "You heard Durbborz, Imperial," he called out, "Turn around now, or I put one between your eyes!"

Korra took a breath, knowing she wasn't getting through without a fight, she unslung her pack and tossed it to one side where it would be safe. "You don't want to do this guys… just tell me where the claw is and I'll be on my way," she stated, calm and clear, as she adopted a ready stance.

It wasn't lost on either of them that Korra had yet to draw a weapon, even though they could plainly _see_ the sword belted at her side and the bow slung across her back. They exchanged a look, they'd been adventuring across Skyrim for long enough to know that when someone didn't draw a weapon for a fight, it meant they primarily used magic. They exchanged a nod, before turning back to face Korra, who was eyeing them both carefully.

Then, letting rip a mighty roar, Durbborz charged forward, swinging his warhammer up and around so that he could bring it smashing down in a powerful strike. In the same moment, the Wood Elf fired his first shot. Korra anticipated both moves, she jinked to one side to avoid the arrow, before counter charging against Durbborz.

The Orc had clearly not been expecting that, and tried to pull back to defend himself, but his momentum and the weight of his hammer pulled him forward straight to where Korra wanted him. Unlike the Captain back at Helgen, the Orc wore only fur armour, and it didn't even protect everywhere, making it easy for Korra to hit the pressure points in his arms and legs.

Durbborz went down like a sack of bricks.

"What in Oblivion!?" the Wood Elf exclaimed, midway through drawing another arrow. He had little time to dwell on his comrade's condition however, as Korra quickly closed the distance, jabbing him painfully in his right shoulder, causing that arm to hang limp, and his grip on his bow to fail. The weapon dropped to the bridge, before clattering off and down to the mountain side below. the now disarmed archer swore, quickly drawing a short blade and taking a swipe at Korra, who was forced to step back quickly to avoid getting gutted, then suddenly, the Wood Elf smirked.

Korra frowned, before she felt a shadow cross over her, she quickly ducked, feeling the wind from a pair of massive muscled arms as they swept over her, a second longer and she'd have been pinned by Durbborz. She kicked one leg out behind her, catching the Orc in the shin, he gave a grunt of pain, but remained standing. Korra now realised how dangerous her current situation was, Durbborz had not stayed down nearly as long as Korra had expected him to, and now she was trapped on the bridge between the two of them. she was forced to draw her short sword to block another swing from the Wood Elf, the moment he backed off, Durbborz swung again with his fists, looking to either grab, or punch her off the bridge.

Thinking fast, Korra made a choice, she kicked out again behind her, this time aiming high, and catching Durbborz in the chin, staggering him for a few moments. It was enough, she then turned and barrelled straight towards the Wood Elf. The moment he saw her coming, he quickly backed up himself, all the while yelling over his shoulder. With a cold feeling of dread, Korra realised there must be others in the tower. Her objective was achieved though, she reached the tower, and after exchanging a few parries and thrusts with the Wood Elf, slammed her knee into his chest, winding him and causing him to collide with the tower wall. He fell to the ground with a thud, and lay still.

Korra had no time to revel in her victory though, as she heard another roar behind her. Glancing over her shoulder she saw Durbborz rushing her again. With the Orc being twice her size, she didn't fancy facing him in close quarters, so instead she took off up the stairs to her right. Durbborz ignored his compatriot and charged after Korra. They soon reached the first level of the tower, an open space that was enclosed on all sides by the tower walls, but lacked a roof, various containers were scattered about as well as three bedrolls. Korra turned as she heard Durbborz' arrival, sheathing her blade and raising her hands, as fire ignited around them.

Durbborz smirked as he advanced in, "Should have opened with that girly," he growled.

"Agreed," declared another voice, causing Korra to glance up quickly, seeing another Orc standing on the floor above them. This one was wearing some proper iron armour, but Korra could still see gaps she could exploit. "Having trouble brother?" the second Orc asked as he drew a long blade, and hefted up an iron shield.

Durbborz shrugged, "Little minx is a nimble one I'll give her that," he then gave the second Orc a serious look, "Be careful Brakil, she's got some fancy moves that will make your limbs give out on you for a time, only lasts a few seconds though."

Brakil nodded, "Noted."

"It's supposed to last several minutes at least," Korra shot back, trying to sound confident, but inwardly panicking. One Orc she could have dealt with, two was a bit much, and it was clear they were far more resilient than the average human, or Durbborz would have stayed down longer, which meant she couldn't rely on her Chi Bending.

Durbborz gave a chuckle as he rotated his neck and shoulders, "Really, guess that just proves your average Orc is made of stronger stuff than the milk drinkers your used to fighting."

Korra glared back at him, "You're forcing me to use this," she declared, holding one flaming hand up, "If we continue this fight, you _will_ end up dead." The two Orcs glanced at one another before Korra continued, "But, if you tell me where the Golden Claw is, I'll leave, and we all get to walk away from this fight."

The two Orcs exchanged a look, before both began laughing, "Can you believe this girl," Brakil guffawed.

"She tried the same thing outside with me and Montelas," Durbborz cackled slapping his knee.

Korra's glare intensified at their mocking, "I mean it, just tell me what I want to know, and no one has to die!" doing her level best to keep the desperation out of her voice.

The two Orcs finally got control of their laughter, before Brakil looked Korra up and down critically, "How old do you reckon she is brother?"

Durbborz shrugged, "Can't be any older than 23, but I'd say no younger than 19."

Brakil nodded, "And she's quite the pretty little thing too," he remarked, a hunger entering his eyes as they continued to examine every inch of Korra, before he put his sword away. "Tell you what sweetheart," he began, "I'll tell you what you want to know," he reached for his belt as he continued, "But first, you have to service me and my brother here." As he finished, he opened the top of his leggings, pulling out his manhood, which was already semi-hard as he leered at her, "After all, it's been a while since either of us got to bed a young woman as _lovely_ as you."

Korra felt several things in that moment, embarrassment at such a vulgar display, revulsion at what he was suggesting, and _anger_. Her face contorted into a visage of fury, as she struck one of her hands forward, unleashing a gout of fire towards them both. They quickly jumped out of the way of the attack, "Go to hell, _pervert_!"

"Pervert? that's a new one," Brakil remarked, as he put his junk away, before speaking to Durbborz, "Don't kill this one, we can have some fun with her first, and she'll also make a fine gift for the boss once he gets back from the barrow."

Durbborz nodded as the two began to separate, so they would be coming at her from two different directions. Korra blasted a stream of fire at each of them in desperation, "Stay back!"

Durbborz chuckled, as he dodged his stream, "Don't worry girly, we just wanna have a little fun with you," he's eyes leering over her form as he spoke.

"That's right," Brakil agreed, blocking his with his shield, something Ralof had warned her about, "So just calm down sweetheart, and this will all be over quickly."

"Oh, I'm sure we could find a way to drag it out brother," Durbborz smiled, which Brakil returned.

Korra was now panicking, eyes darting around the room, looking for a way out, while backing away from the Orc brothers, trying to maintain distance, with a gout of fire every now and then for good measure.

"You're gonna run out of Magicka eventually girl," Brakil stated, "Just give it up already."

Korra grit her teeth, knowing he was right, she took one last glance around her, and then did a double take on the wall behind her, it looked heavily worn. An idea formed in her head, it was dangerous, but it was her only chance. She turned back to the brothers, "Last chance, let me walk, or this gets ugly."

Brakil smirked, "The only place this is going, is a _very_ pleasurable evening," he stated, before lunging forward.

Korra quickly shut off her flames, and ducked underneath his grab, before giving him a jab in each shoulder. He gave a grunt of pain, and his eyes widened as both his arms hung limp from his shoulders. Korra quickly peeled away from him, getting behind him. Durbborz, who'd been expecting the move was after her in a heartbeat, but he didn't have a shield. Korra brought up her hand closest to the charging Orc, and lightning ignited in her hand. Durbborz' eyes bulged at the sight, and he slammed on the brakes, trying desperately to get out of the way. Korra smirked at him, and aimed at his left side, the sparks from her hand raking along him. Durbborz gave a snarl of pain and moved instinctively away from the spell… and right into his brother, who'd only just gotten the feeling back into his arms. The two collided and collapsed straight into the wall Korra had been standing in front of moments ago. The wall crumpled under their combined weight, and they fell through, she heard them both shout, before there was a solid _thud_ from below as they hit the bridge. The vibration caused by them landing on the bridge, knocked one of the large stones that had made up the wall loose, and with its support stones now all but gone, it too fell through the hole after the brothers.

Korra heard a scream from below, that was swiftly cut off by a second, wetter, _thud_. She approached the edge, and looked down, and had to immediately force back the bile. Brakil had crushed his brother between his armour and the bridge edge, breaking Durbborz' spine, while the stone had finished Brakil, falling directly on his head… both were very dead. As Korra examined the scene, she spotted movement directly below her, she looked down to see Montelas looking up at her, before his gaze moved to the two brothers, his arm still hanging limp. His gaze moved back up to Korra, real fear now in his eyes, as he took off at a run, vaulting over the fallen brothers, and running further up the trail.

Korra heard Ralof's voice in her head, telling her to shoot the man before he warned the bandits up ahead, but she just couldn't do it. Killing someone actively trying to kill or – in the brother's case – _rape_ her, was one thing. Killing someone in cold blood, was quite another, and she swore to herself there and then, she would _never_ cross that line. Taking a breath, she gathered herself as Tenzin had taught her, before turning back into the tower and heading back down, she'd delayed for long enough.

**]|[**

"Boss, boss!" Narash turned towards the voice calling him, as did his men who were gathered around him. His eyebrow raised in surprise at seeing Montelas running up the trail, one arm hanging limp at his side, though he didn't look injured.

"What is it Montelas," Narash growled, annoyed at the interruption.

"We were attacked, a young mage girl, moved like a Dremora, she floored Durbborz before coming after me," he indicated his arm.

Several of Narash's men began to laugh at the absurdity of Montelas' claim, but Narash himself scrutinised him. "Where are Durbborz and Brakil?" his words silenced his men's mirth, and the terrified look on Montelas' face made them tense.

"Dead… she knocked them both through one of the tower's walls, Durbborz was crushed by Brakil against the bridge, and Brakil was killed by falling masonry."

A wave of muttering spread through the other bandits at the news, Durbborz and Brakil were two of their strongest, it was inconceivable that they had _lost_. Narash's hard tone snapped them back to the present, "Where is she now!?"

"She was still in the tower when I left, but from how she spoke to us, I think she's coming here, she's after the Claw," Montelas replied, pointing back the way he came.

Narash's face contorted in rage, his fist clenching, "Burdrum, stay here with three others, and wait for Arvel and the others… the rest of you, come with me, that includes you Montelas!"

His men didn't argue, as the Nord he'd chosen to stay and guard the entrance to the barrow, gathered three others, and readied themselves. The rest, picked up their weapons and followed their leader.

**]|[**

Korra peered from behind the rock she was hidden behind, glad that she'd had the foresight to wait for Montelas to return. She'd been careful to erase her tracks so it would take a while for them to figure out where she'd gone, hopefully it would be enough time for her to get into the barrow and recover the claw. As she watched the bandits march by, her eyes were drawn to the leader.

_Another Orc_, she mentally grumbled, then with a start, noticed that his face held remarkably similar features to the two she'd left dead at the tower. _Brothers then, all three of them_, she mused, it had not escaped her notice that Brakil had looked older than Durbborz, and that _this_ Orc appeared older than Brakil. The third Orc was also wearing better quality armour, _steel_ unless she very much missed her guess, thick, with few weak points or exposed areas, he'd be a tough one for sure, and Korra was glad she'd managed to avoid _that_ particular fight.

Once they'd rounded the corner and headed for the tower, she slipped out from behind her rock, and made haste for the barrow. It wouldn't take them long to figure out her ruse, and it was unlikely they'd left the entrance to the barrow unguarded, so speed was now of the essence. Fortunately, thanks to Montelas, she no longer had to fight the entire group.

**]|[**

Narash glared down at the two bodies, the bodies of his younger brothers. It was just as Montelas had said… with the exception that the girl he'd spoken about was no where to be seen, and they hadn't run into anyone along the trail. He turned to Montelas, "So, where is she!?"

Montelas was busy working the feeling back into his arm, "I don't know," he said, "The last place I saw her was up there," he declared, pointing at the new hole in the tower wall.

Narash examined it as well, then looked back down at his brothers, he noticed that Durbborz had scorch marks along his left side, marks that could only have been made by magic. _Montelas is telling the truth then… but __**where**__ is she?_

Suddenly, a shout carried to them on the wind, and Narash's head snapped round to the direction they'd come. _Clever girl,_ "Back to the barrow, QUICKLY!" Narash roared, taking off up the trail, back towards the barrow, his men hot on his heels. It was a decent run back to the barrow, the march had taken about fifteen minutes, the run took about half that time, but it was still too late. By the time they got there, Burdrum and one other was dead, and the other two were curled on the ground groaning in pain, their muscles completely unresponsive. Narash picked one of them up by his fur vest, "Where!"

The man couldn't do so much as raise a finger, so he merely directed his eyes towards the door of the barrow. Narash dropped him, and made for the now open door, he stepped inside to find the two he'd placed to watch the entrance were also laid out like the others outside. He stood at the top of the stairs leading deeper into the barrow. There wasn't a chance in Oblivion that he was leading his men into that death trap just to chase after one girl, but at the same time, that girl had killed his brothers, and humiliated his men, he _had_ to make her pay.

_She can't stay down there forever_, he thought, a malicious smile slowly creeping across his face. He turned to the men who'd followed him in, "Gather the wounded and get them back to the tower, see to it their on their feet again as soon as possible, everyone else, get the girl's description from those who saw her, and spread out around the mountain, the moment you see her, signal the others… we're gonna make her _**PAY**_!"

**]|[**

Korra rested her hands on her knees, panting. It had been touch and go for a moment there, but she'd made it, and the bandits didn't appear to be following her, though Korra had no doubt they'd be waiting for her to come back out the way she went in.

_Fat chance of that… there's gotta be another exit to this place… but let's cross that bridge when we come to it._

Taking a breath, Korra continued on. The barrow was musty, and a foul stench hung in the air, the stench of things long dead, she just hoped they stayed that way, as the memory of what Gerdur had told her about the Draugr came back. She'd been walking for some time when she spotted movement. She ducked behind a corner, and peered round. Another bandit was standing at the entrance to another room, the first since leaving the main entrance, he appeared to be examining the room and muttering to himself.

"Tricky little Dunmer, how in Oblivion did he get through this?" the bandit walked forward towards a gate, that looked well and truly locked tight. Then he stopped, and Korra saw a lever sticking out of the ground as she crept closer. "Ah, this must open it, just gotta…" the bandit took hold of the lever with both hands and pulled.

A clanking noise began filling the room, but the gate remained closed, as Korra looked around wildly, then she saw the small holes in the walls, and where they were pointing. "Look out!" Korra yelled.

The Bandit whirled around to her, blade halfway out of its sheath, but he got no further, as a flurry of small darts suddenly hit his back. The bandit gave a grunt of pain, as his eyes crossed, before he fell forwards, dead. From his back, protruded dozens of small darts, and as Korra examined them, she detected the sickly scent of poison. Korra gave the room another examination, Camilla had mentioned traps as they'd been leaving the village, this must be what she meant.

_I'll have to tread carefully… but I still need to get through this door._

Currently, Korra could see no other way through however, then her eyes landed on three pillars on the left side of the room. They were shaped to resemble three sided pyramids, and on each side was carved an animal, a whale, a hawk, and a snake. Curious, Korra looked around again, and it didn't take her long to find more of the carvings above the gate. Three stone heads, with yawning mouths, and inside those mouths, were plaques containing the same carvings. In this case, a snake and whale, but there was one missing, the leftmost head broken off. Didn't take long to find it though, as it sat not far from the gate where it had fallen, and thankfully, the carving was still whole enough to make out, another snake.

"Simple enough," Korra muttered, and approached the pillars, turning each so that the outward facing matched the ones above the gate. With some trepidation she returned to the lever, being careful to avoid the dead bandit. Korra took a deep breath, and quickly pulled the lever, finding it surprisingly more difficult than she expected, no doubt part of the tomb's security measures, if the order of the pillars was wrong, then the resistance the lever provided gave the defences more time to kill the intruder. A small flare of doubt ignited in Korra's stomach, as she prepared to feel the sting of the darts, but they never came, instead she heard a heavy clanking behind her, and turned her head to see the gate was open.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Korra moved on, entering another room, with a set of wooden spiral stairs leading down. Korra ignited a flame in her hand to light her way as she descended, she got a brief scare at the bottom, as three large rats ran right passed her, and straight up the stairs. Confused as to why they hadn't attacked her, especially given they had looked large enough to do some serious damage to a human, Korra peered ahead. The stench of death was stronger down here, and at the end of the passage, she could make out something white coating one of the walls on the left.

Korra proceeded cautiously, as she did, she heard a voice calling out, "Is that you Haknir, Bjorn, Solien!?"

_Ah, that must be Arvel, the guy those bandits at the entrance were talking about, and also the guy who has the claw._

Korra quickly rounded the corner, only to stop dead in her tracks, the door to the next room was blocked by thick spider webbing. On the other side she could hear Arvel begging for help, what's more, she'd come too far to turn back now, not to mention turning back would mean having to face the bandits waiting for her. Uttering a quick curse, Korra blasted the webbing with a gout of flames, they quickly caught and burned, filling the air with an acrid stench. Korra waited until the way was completely clear, before stepping through.

The moment she did, Arvel began losing it, and it wasn't hard to see why, as a _massive_ spider descended from a hole in the ceiling. Korra summoned flames into her other hand as it settled onto the floor, between her and Arvel, it also didn't escape her notice that it didn't settle quite fully onto three of its legs.

_Wounded eh_, Korra mused, _must be my lucky day._

Wounded or not, the spider still made a lunge for her, Korra dodged to one side, feeling the creature's fangs miss her by a hair's breadth, as she bathed it in flames. The spider screeched thrashing its legs out at Korra futilely, for Korra's part, she moved slowly and calmly, any time the spider made to lunge, she gave it another dose of fire. Once she had the spider between her and the door she'd come through, she began advancing, with short bursts of flame, slowly pushing the spider backwards. Once it had passed through the door, it moved to curl up in the corridor beyond.

Korra gave a nod of satisfaction, before turning around towards Arvel, she hadn't gone more than three steps though when said Elf gave a cry, "Look out!"

Korra whirled, hand reaching for her sword, as she turned back around, the spider's maw coming straight for her face. Korra managed to block the fangs with a well-placed elbow, though wasn't able to stop it baring her to the ground as the spider futilely tried to bite at her, it's drool dripping onto her out of its mouth. "Screw this!" Korra yelled and drove her sword straight into its mouth. The spider tensed, rigor mortis running across its body, before it finally slumped to the ground, pinning Korra's legs.

Uttering a noise of disgust, Korra wormed her legs out from under the creature, before giving it a satisfying, vindictive kick to the face. "If I never see one of these things again it will be too soon," Korra grumbled as she swiped off the drool and ichor.

"Huh, you and me both sweetheart," Arvel said from behind her, "Thanks for the save by the way."

Korra chuckled, "Don't mention it… really," she replied while walking up to him, "Cause now your going to give me the Golden Claw, so I can return it to Lucan."

Arvel's eyes widened at her words, before they returned to normal, "Right yes, the Claw, I have it, I know how it all fits together."

Korra raised an eyebrow, "How what fits together?"

"The Claw, the markings, the door in the hall of stories, I know how it all works," the Dunmer blathered, "Help me down and I'll show you."

Korra studied the man's body language and could see he was ready to run the moment she cut him down, and had no intention of sharing anything. She pulled out her blade and brought it up to him, "Alright look, I really couldn't care less whether or not you walk away from this, I have no intention of turning you in so long as you give me the Claw."

Realising the jig was up, he gave her a critical stare, "And why exactly should I trust you?"

"Two reasons," Korra answered, "Right now, I'm the only chance you have at freedom, I could cut you down, but I _don't _have to cut you loose, meaning I can leave you here webbed up for some _other_ monster to find, and still retrieve the Claw from you," she gestured behind to the dead spider, "I'm sure you don't want that, do you?"

Arvel's dark face suddenly paled, "Second reason, those bandits that were guarding the entrance are still waiting up there," Korra added, "Meaning the only way out without getting ambushed by them is forward." Korra let that sink in for a moment, "Now if you wanna head back up to them that's fine, but I don't think they'd be very appreciative of the guy who ran off on them, _with_ the treasure they stole."

Arvel's face paled further, to the point that Korra was now worried for him, as he realised his predicament. Finally, he seemed to get control of himself and his colour returned to normal, "Alright, you win, I won't run."

Korra smiled, "Good, see what can be accomplished when your cooperative."

With that, she began slicing into the webbing, it was tough going, but within a few minutes Arvel was free, and brushing the last of the stuff off. Just as he finished, Korra held out her hand. Arvel hesitated, and Korra saw a flash of defiance in his eyes, so decided to add one final push, "You know, running into here was what got you into this mess in the first place," she stated, "Do you really want to risk that a second time?" she finished with a gesture down the tunnel ahead of them.

Arvel glanced in the tunnel's direction, then back at the dead spider, before sighing and producing the Golden Claw from a pouch at his side and holding it out to her. Korra took the Claw, and placed it in her own pouch, "What now?" Arvel asked.

"Only way out is forward," Korra repeated, "So let's keep moving," she stated, as she proceeded further in, with Arvel following behind her.

**]|[**

The trip to Wan Shi Tong's library had taken longer than anticipated, but, finally, they arrived, and brought the airship into land on a stand of rock, connected to the Library via a bridge of vines. Team Avatar picked their way over it carefully, with Kai and Jinora using their flight suits to keep watch on either side, if anyone fell, they'd swoop in to catch them. Finally, they arrived on the other side, and entered the Library.

It was, in a word, _magnificent_, rows upon rows of bookshelves, filled with books, scrolls and texts from all over the world, from every age. "It's just like father described it," Tenzin breathed.

The others took his word for it but didn't have much time to dwell on the structure, as the heavy beat of wings alerted them to danger. Wan Shi Tong, massive, with black feathers, and white face, landed directly in front of them, rearing to his full height, wings outstretched. _"Your father you say, then you must be Aang's son, how fortuitous… for me,"_ the Spirit declared, and made to lunge.

Before he completed the move, Jinora had stepped to the front of the group, and glared up at the Knowledge Spirit, "Remember me?"

Wan Shi Tong pulled up short, and stared at her, _"Yes I do little one, and I believe I told you last time that Humans are no longer permitted in my Library."_

"I remember," Jinora replied, "I also remember you tricking me into staying so you could bring Unalaq here to capture me." Wan Shi Tong flinched, and Jinora noticed a mark on the underside of his neck, where some of his feathers seemed misplaced. "Seems you remember that too, and it seems you didn't get away from that betrayal unscathed."

A look of anger crossed the owl's face, _"I may do however I please inside my Library, do not presume you know anything about Spirit politics!"_

"True," Jinora answered, "But I doubt the other Spirits looked very kindly on you for bringing harm to an innocent."

Wan Shi Tong's look of anger intensified at her words, but he folded his wings away, _"What is it you want!?"_ he demanded.

Jinora turned to her father at this point, "We require your help, oh great Spirit of Knowledge," Tenzin said, giving a small bow as he spoke, the others mimicking him.

"_My help!?" _the owl exclaimed before he began laughing, he dragged it out for some time, before bringing his beak in close to Tenzin. _"And what makes you think I would ever help you?"_ he asked, _"After everything humanity has done to abuse my knowledge… of what your own father and his friends did by betraying my trust… __**why**__ would I ever help you!?"_

"Because if you don't our entire world could be in danger," Mako declared.

"_Oh?"_

Mako took a step forward, "Even you have to know what's happened, with Korra missing…" but that was as far as he got before Wan Shi Tong cut him off.

"_I' am fully aware of what's happened human,"_ he surveyed them all, _"And quite frankly I don't care… so the Avatar is missing… good riddance I say."_

"How can you not care!?" exclaimed Opal, "Without the Avatar, there's no telling what might happen."

"What if the thing that took Korra comes back," Tenzin argued, "Only she was able to come close to besting it, if it comes back…" now it was Tenzin's turn to be interrupted.

"_The world got along fine for Millennia before the Avatar, and it can do so again," _Wan Shi Tong declared, _"Now, for the last time… __**GET OUT!**__" _he punctuated his final statement, by flaring his wings wide again, causing all of them – except Asami – to take an involuntary step back.

"Please Wan Shi Tong," Tenzin pleaded, "There must be something we can do, a deal that can be struck."

"_You mortals possess nothing I could ever want, and I have been magnanimous enough with you!" _the owl snapped back.

"Forget it guys," everyone whirled towards Asami as she spoke for the first time.

"Asami, what?" Bolin cried, "You can't be serious.

Asami levelled a critical stare at him, "The old Buzzard isn't going to help us no matter what we say or do, this is a waste of our time," she declared.

"_Finally,"_ Wan Shi Tong appraised, _"A human with some common sense."_

Asami gave him a glare, "Before we go, answer me this." Wan Shi Tong tilted his head slightly, "Are you responsible for what happened to Korra… did you bring the creature that took her to our world?"

Wan Shi Tong chuckled, _"No, but I wish I had thought of it, even if I had though, I likely would never have been able to employ it myself, the other Spirits have kept far too close an eye on me since the Unalaq incident." _He folded his wings back again, and gave her an approximation of a smug grin, _"Even so, I shall be praising whichever Spirit __**was**__ responsible, from this day onward, for they have done a great thing for our world." _With that he began to laugh again as Asami spun on her heel and marched out.

The others raced to catch up with her, "Asami," Mako exclaimed, "You can't be giving up?"

"Of course not!" Asami snapped back, "But he clearly isn't going to help us," she growled, glancing back at the still cackling Spirit, "At least, not with us begging he isn't." with that she left them behind as she marched back to the airship, a dark visage of anger and fury forming on her beautiful face, one way or another, Wan Shi Tong was going to help them, Asami would see to it personally.

**]|[**

Bringing Arvel along had been a smart decision, as they'd progressed deeper into the ruins, they'd encountered more and more hazards. Traps, pitfalls, but worst was the Draugr. Korra would never have believed it if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, _walking corpses_. She'd assumed everyone had been pulling her leg till then, till she'd seen their cold ice blue eyes herself, the way they shambled forward, intent on driving their ancient blades and axes through her skull. Arvel wasn't much of a fighter, but he was good with a knife, so they had adapted a strategy. Korra would stagger the Draugr with her Chi Bending, then Arvel would finish them off with a precise blow, quick, efficient and effective. Whenever the Draugr countered this strategy in some fashion, Korra would resort to her magic, though she used it sparingly. The combination of the fight to get into the ruins, along with all the dangers they'd faced so far, meant she could feel her reserves running low… _not_ that she was going to tell Arvel that.

Finally, after what felt like hours, they reached the door, Arvel had been ranting on about. "This is it," he crowed, "This is the hall of Stories."

Korra looked around at the walls as they made their way in towards the large circular door at the end. The walls were indeed carved with murals that seemed to make up individual stories, but Korra couldn't even begin to discern what each was saying. Suddenly, one of the murals made her double take. It was only a few feet from the door, with two torch scones on either side, making it difficult to miss, but it was what was inscribed on the mural which had caught Korra's attention. It showed a young woman, being pulled into a portal, with several other figures, two male, two female, reaching out for her.

_What in Raava's name._

To anyone else, the mural would have meant nothing, to Korra, it was instantly familiar, even the way the characters were drawn were eerily similar.

"What's that?" Arvel asked, seeing Korra distracted.

Korra shook herself and turned away from the mural, "Nothing, let's just get this over with."

Arvel gave her a glance, then looked back at the mural, before shrugging and turning towards the door himself. "Okay, so we need the Claw for this next part," he declared as he began examining the door.

Korra withdrew it from the pouch she'd been keeping it in, "Okay, now what?", Arvel gestured for her to hand it over. "Yea, nice try, but no," Korra retorted.

Arvel gave her a sly look, "Your sharp I'll give you that," at Korra's raised eyebrow he pressed on, "All I know is that when you have the Claw, the key to open this door lies in the palm of your hand… so…" he turned towards the door, indicating the central point, where a disc with four indents sat, indents that lined up precisely with the points of the claw.

_Can't be that simple… can it? _Korra mused to herself as she approached, holding out the claw to slot it into the indents. Arvel stood to one side, in eager anticipation, but suddenly, Korra pulled back.

"What now!?" he moaned.

"It's too easy," Korra replied, her gaze moving around the room critically.

Arvel sighed, "Look sweetheart, after what we've just had to go through, don't you want some easy!?"

Korra glanced sideways at him, "One, don't call me sweetheart," Arvel rolled his eyes, "Two, take a look around the door."

Arvel did just that, "What, I don't see anything…" he trailed off as small holes surrounding the door caught his vision.

"Just like the gate with the three pillars," Korra stated, as Arvel took a nervous step back, "Meaning if we get this wrong, we won't have time to regret our mistake."

"Fair point," Arvel replied, "But then what? What else could be needed to open the door?"

Korra gave the door a closer examination, peering at the strange symbols marked on it, as she passed a hand over one of the symbols, she felt the surface underneath give a little, like it was moving on rollers. Her breath hitched, "It's a puzzle!" she cried, "Just like the other gate, get the symbols in the right order and the door will open."

"But what order?" Arvel questioned, I don't see anything around here that matches the symbols on the door?"

_The key lies in the palm of your hand…._ Korra turned the words over and over in her head, turning the Claw in her hands as she did so, while constantly staring at the door, as if it would give up its secrets to her. _Palm of your hand…_ Korra rested the Claw on her palm, so that the toes of the Claw slotted between her fingers, in that moment, as she stared at it, she noticed something. The Claw was smooth, on every surface, except one, the one now resting in her palm… _The side that __**would**__ be the palm __**for the Claw**__!_

Quickly, she turned the Claw over and gave a crow of triumph, Arvel turned to her, "What, what is it!?"

"Turn the top ring so that the bear is the symbol showing," Korra exclaimed.

"What!?"

"Just do it!"

Arvel took a step back hands raised, "Alright, alright, I'm doing it." He proceeded to turn the top ring until the bear was displayed, "Now what?"

"The moth, middle ring," Korra answered, Arvel completed that one, "And Owl for the inner ring."

Once Arvel was done, he stood back, as Korra moved forward with the Claw, he suddenly grabbed her free arm, "What if your wrong?"

She gave him a serious look, "Then run like hell."

He returned her a grim nod, as she stepped up to the door, and took a deep breath. Bracing for the worst, she slotted the Claw into the door, and turned. The sound of clanks and clunks echoed throughout the room for at least a minute, then suddenly, all three rings changed to all depict the owl, before the door began sliding down into the floor.

"Mara's mercy," Arvel breathed.

"No kidding," Korra agreed.

The door slid downwards completely, until the top of the door, formed a new section of floor, connecting the hallway they were standing in, with the one beyond. Korra saw that the corridor went up a flight of stairs before opening out into what appeared to be a large cave. She took a step forward, as she did, a sound caught her ear, it was the sound of metal sliding from a sheath. Quickly she pushed herself off her back foot, and whirled around in the same movement, just as Arvel attempted to slice the back of her neck with the knife he'd drawn, as it was, the blade just nicked her cheek, and the tiny wound suddenly began to burn.

_Poison, cowardly bastard._

Korra quickly backed away from Arvel, putting some distance between them, as Arvel, knowing the jig was now up, squared off on her. His confidence surprised her momentarily, until she remembered the poison. The little cut on her cheek wouldn't do much, but if he caused a more serious wound, he'd have no need to finish her off, the poison would see to that.

Arvel smirked at her as she realised this, "I wonder what kind of reward Narash would give me if I were to bring him your head?" he mused, "Considering you had to dupe him to get in here, I'd say he be very pleased to know I finished you off, certainly enough to forgive me for running off with the Claw."

Korra gritted her teeth, before stepping back and allowing Arvel to pass, "You want the treasure Arvel… fine it's yours, I just want to find a way out of this place and take the Claw back to Lucan."

Arvel snorted, "Yea, nice try, you really think I'm falling for that?"

"I'm serious, whatever was buried in here I have no interest in it whatsoever… as for this Narash guy, I don't intend to run into those bandits again, so just tell him you killed me and left me to die down here."

Arvel seemed to think this over, "He's going to want proof," he said finally.

Korra swore internally at that, then an idea came to her, "Pass me your other knife." Arvel gave her a condescending look. "I have a sword, a bow and can use magic," Korra stated exasperatedly, "_Pass me your other knife_."

Arvel considered it, before relenting, drawing his other knife and tossed it her way. Korra caught it expertly by the handle, and brought it up to her hair, proceeding to cut a lock off, before holding it and the knife out to him. "And what does that prove?" Arvel asked giving her a wary stare.

"Narash's men saw me, they know what I look like, which means they know my hair colour, and since you and I are the only ones down here…"

Arvel caught on, and lowered his stance, before shaking his head and chuckling, "You sure know how to negotiate, I'll give you that," he stated, sheathing his poisoned knife and taking back his other one and the lock of Korra's hair. "If you ever make it down to the Imperial City, look me up when you get there… I'll be living the high life of course," he said as he pocketed her hair.

"Of course," Korra replied, as she stood aside to allow him to pass.

Arvel gave her another wary glance, before walking slowly passed, keeping an eye on her the whole way. Only once he had passed her, did he take off into the cave. Only once he had gone, did Korra relax and pull out her water flask, and quickly washed out the cut on her cheek. It wasn't that deep and was barely bleeding, it would probably be sore and inflamed for the next few days as her body fought off the poison but there wasn't much she could do about it, other than clean the wound as thoroughly as possible and keep any more dirt or grime out of it. The good news was it was unlikely that the poison would enter her bloodstream from such a shallow wound, but she should still get a medical professional to look it over the first chance she got.

With that done she proceeded into the cave herself.

And had her breath taken away. The cave was massive, faintly reminding Korra of the Pro-Bending arena back in Republic city. The top of the cave stretched a couple dozen metres above their heads, while openings in the rock, allowed the last rays of sunlight to pour in, illuminating the entire place. Separating the two halves of the cave, the one Korra was in, and the one ahead, was a stream that entered in from one side and went out the other through the walls. Across the stream, was a raised area, that had what looked like a coffin sitting at its highest point, as well as a large curved wall, with strange carvings inscribed on it, as well as a carving of a dragon's head. Arvel was excitedly examining the wall, crowing about how he was right all along. Korra shook her head and began looking for a way out, she saw that the pathway leading round to the left after the bridge she'd just crossed, led to a flight of stairs and a rock wall, with what looked like a lever sitting next to it.

_A way out, perfect._

**]|[**

Wan Shi Tong was organizing the books in his histories of the Earth Kingdom section, when a noise reached his incredibly acute ears, it was unlike any noise he'd ever heard before. He glanced around, trying to decipher where it was coming from, when suddenly, the bookshelf next to him exploded, as a large flying metal monstrosity came hurtling at him. Wan Shi Tong had just enough time for his eyes to widen, before the thing slammed into him full force and bore him through several more bookshelves, before they finally slammed against one of the Libraries outer walls, stopping them dead.

From around the corner, came Tenzin, Mako, Bolin, Opal, Kai and Jinora, with several of Wan Shi Tong's helpers following. "Asami, what are you doing, you have to stop!" Tenzin cried, as the Hummingbird/Mecha Tank hybrid got to its feet, squaring off against the Knowledge Spirit.

"Not until he gives Korra back!" Asami yelled, charging again.

She crashed into Wan Shi Tong, and bore him again to the ground, _"You __**dare**__ attack a Spirit, you will pay dearly for your insolence!"_

"Give Korra back to me, right now!" Asami screamed, heedless of the Spirit's words.

The fist of Asami's mech, collided with Wan Shi Tong's face, sending him sprawling once more. _"I told you, I had nothing to do with the Avatar's disappearance!"_

"But you know a way to bring her back don't you!" Asami roared, her eyes wide, her hair wild, "And your going to tell me, RIGHT NOW!"

She tackled Wan Shi Tong into another set of bookshelves, toppling them over, and sending their contents flying. "Asami stop this is insane!" Bolin cried.

"I don't think she's listening anymore bro," Mako replied.

"We have to stop this, before it get's too far out of hand," Opal stated.

"Agreed but-" Tenzin was cut off as the two came crashing back from the other direction as spirit and machine grappled.

Wan Shi Tong reared to his full height, neck extending out, _"You cannot win human, submit now, and I might just let you live!"_

Asami gave a growl, as she got her mech back on its feet, before taking another swing at the spirit. Wan Shi Tong avoided the blow, before cleaving the mechanical arm off at the shoulder with his beak. The move earned him a metal fist to the stomach from Asami's other arm, now winded, Asami bore him to the ground again, slamming her remaining fist into his face repeatedly. "You, will, give, her, back, to, me!" she screeched, each word delivered with every blow.

"Asami stop!" Tenzin pleaded, along with the rest of her friends, before Wan Shi Tong's voice rang out throughout the building silencing them.

"_**ENOUGH!**__"_

Wan Shi Tong's wings slammed into Asami's mech, sending her flying backwards and into one of the libraries pillars. The collision, sheared the mechs legs from its torso, which continued passed the pillar, till it fetched up at the entrance to another room, filled with artefacts, where it lay still.

Tenzin quickly turned to Wan Shi Tong, getting between him and the destroyed mech, "Please great Spirit we beg your forgiveness, we will leave, immediately, just please do not hurt her, she is not in her right mind," he begged.

Wan Shi Tong gave him a long stare, before he finally spoke, _"If you think I can forgive this human, then you are a fool, now, stand aside." _As he spoke, he swept one of his wings across them, pushing them all out of his path to the destroyed mech, and began advancing.

Asami groaned in pain as she unclipped her harness, and crawled out of the wreckage, behind her she could hear the others yelling at her to run, but what was the point, Korra was gone, she'd lost everything that mattered to her. She lifted the necklace Korra had made for her, which was now around her neck, staring at the lovingly crafted centrepiece, as tears began to blur her vision. She felt a shadow cross over her.

"Korra," she whispered, "I'm sorry."

**]|[**

Korra stopped, a tingle racing up her spine.

_That was… no, it couldn't be._

She looked around the cave again, she was about halfway up the stairs that led out. Once again, the only person there besides her was Arvel. Tentatively, hopefully, she whispered back, "Asami?"

Asami's head snapped up as she heard her name, it had barely been there, like a whisper on the breeze, but she _knew_ she'd heard it, and she _knew whose_ voice it had been. She got to her feet, heedless of the still looming Spirit behind her, "Korra!" she cried, "Korra I'm here, where are you!?"

The others watched her like she was crazy, even Wan Shi Tong had stopped to stare.

This time Korra was certain, she had definitely heard Asami's voice calling out to her, but _where_. She rushed back down the stairs, into the main area of the chamber. Arvel noticed her approach and watched her warily. "Asami, Asami I'm here!" Korra cried out, her voice echoing around the cave, "Asami!"

Asami took off at a sprint into the room she was at the entrance of, the others – Wan Shi Tong included – raced after her. They had heard it this time, Korra's voice, faint and distant, but distinctly Korra. As they all ran into the room, Asami called out again, "Korra! KORRA!"

Asami's voice was growing clearer, Korra followed it, heading towards the wall, as she approached it, she faintly heard Arvel ask her what she was doing, but her focus was elsewhere. As she got nearer, she saw one of the strange words carved into the surface begin to glow, and there seemed to be some form of energy, flowing from it towards her. "Asami!" she cried again as she rushed up to the inscribed word, pressing her hands to the stone surface either side of it.

"_Asami!"_

The girl in question snapped her head round in the direction of the voice, her gaze falling on a large stone tablet inscribed with strange words – they looked almost like they'd been gouged into the rock's surface by claws – she rushed over, seeing one of the words was glowing. "Korra! Korra I'm here!"

"_Korra! Korra I'm here!"_ Asami answered, and suddenly, Korra could see her, just on the other side of the word.

"Asami!" Korra cried, trying with all her might to push through, even calling up some of her magic in the hopes that would help. No matter how hard she tried however, it was no good, she was still stuck in that cave. "Asami I can't get through," Korra cried desperately.

Asami looked around for something, _anything_ that could help, but there was nothing. She turned back to the tablet, and saw the glow beginning to leave the word through which she could see Korra's face. "Korra, Korra no stay with me, don't leave me please!"

Korra had also noticed that the glow on her side was fading. _No, let me through damm it, I have to get back, let me through!_

It was no good, they could see and hear each other only. With a sigh of frustration, Korra gave up trying to push through, and instead focused on Asami's rapidly fading image. "Asami, listen to me, I'm going to find a way back, I promise, I _will_ find a way back, no matter how long it takes, I promise you Asami!" just as she finished, the glow faded completely, and Asami's face disappeared, and Korra heard no more, "I promise," Korra continued, as her eyes filled with tears and she slid to the ground.

Asami felt her own tears tracking down her cheeks as the glow faded, and Korra's words went with it, she had heard enough though, and she slid to the floor herself as her sobs overwhelmed her. Tenzin glanced at Wan Shi Tong who was now standing passively to one side, simply staring at Asami, the great owl's expression unreadable, but he didn't stop Tenzin as the monk sidled forward to reach Asami, the others following behind, wrapping their friend in their arms.

**]|[**

Korra didn't know how long she sat like that, but it was Arvel's voice that broke her out of it. "What in Oblivion do you think you're doing!?"

Korra glanced up at him, wiping her eyes as she did so, "If you didn't notice, trying to get back to my friends." She stood up, dusting herself off, suddenly, she heard a sound behind her, a sort of _crack._

Arvel clearly missed it though, because he was still facing her and berating her, "What you just did, was take what I came in here for, the _power_ the Nords buried here!"

Korra slowly turned back around, and her eyes widened, "Arvel…" she tried.

"You said I could take whatever I wanted from this tomb, said you had _no_ interest in it… well," he drew his poisoned knife again, "You're not making a fool of me twice!"

"ARVEL!" Korra yelled, pointing behind him.

Arvel frowned, and turned, just in time for his face to meet the business end of the Draugr Overlord's longsword. His head snapped back around, a huge gash opening up his face and causing one half of his lower jaw to hang loose, as he collapsed back to the ground, very dead.

Korra drew her short sword, and summoned some flames in her free hand, the Draugr meanwhile took the time to lop off Arvel's head with its blade, to ensure the dark elf was dead. It then looked back up at Korra, chuckling in that guttural way all its kind did. Korra grit her teeth, this Draugr appeared stronger than the others they'd faced, and now she was facing it alone, not only that, but it had her backed up against the word wall behind her.

"This day just keeps getting better and better," Korra grumbled, before lunging forward, unleashing a gout of fire at the creature as she charged. It met her fire with a stream of ice, the two colliding in mid-air, causing steam to fill the room. Korra used the reduced visibility to sneak in under the creature's guard and take a slash at its legs. The Overlord stumbled, but didn't fall, and swung its longsword at her in retaliation. Korra barely managed to parry the blow, and after she did, she saw the thing's fist heading straight for her. She was knocked backwards and sent sprawling, her sword falling from her grip and sliding away from her, off the edge of the platform and into the stream below.

Korra quickly got back to her feet, and drew her bow, she'd be using more magic, but her reserves were almost depleted, and she wasn't sure she could kill this thing with what she had left. Running was of course an option, but she didn't know how long it would take to open the secret exit at the top of the stairs, and she didn't want to have to go all the way back through the barrow, especially with Narash and his goons waiting. So instead she notched and arrow to her bow, pulled back as far as she could, and let fly.

Her aim left something to be desired. The arrow sailed passed the Overlord's shoulder as it rushed towards her. Korra quickly leapt from the top of the ledge she was standing on and to the path below, rolling through the landing and drawing another arrow as she did. In one fluid move she was back on her feet and let fly again. This time, her aim was true, and she took the creature in the shoulder. It jerked, and stared at the arrow now imbedded there, before slowly turning its ice blue gaze on Korra.

"Oh shit!" Korra exclaimed, as the Overlord jumped after her.

Korra scrambled out of the way, heading back towards the stairs, run it was then, she'd got what she came for anyway. She took the stairs two at a time, quickly reaching the top, and pulling the lever out of its housing. Once more the sound of gears clanking echoed through the room, and Korra watched as the wall section in front of her began to retract into the floor, slowly, _too_ slowly. She whirled back around, seeing the Overlord almost upon her. Thinking fast, she ditched her bow, and summoned lightning into both hands, and struck the Overlord with everything she had left.

She got lucky and clipped the Overlord's sword hand in the initial strike, which caused the muscles in its arm to involuntarily spasm and drop the blade. There however her luck ended, as just a second after that, her magic ran dry.

"No, no, no, not now!" she cried.

A guttural growl emanated from in front of her, and she looked up to see the Overlord glaring at her. Then a thunk to her right told her the door was fully open. She sprinted for the exit, but the Overlord caught her off guard, moving faster than she thought it capable of, it grabbed her by her hood and hauled her back, before tossing her off the ledge to the platform with the wall below. Once more, luck was on her side, as she crashed down on top of a chest that had been resting beside the coffin the Overlord had come from. Her colliding with it, cracked the old and rotting chest open, as well as broke her fall, though something sharp caught her shoulder, which flared in pain as she cried out.

The Overlord leapt down to the ground below just in front of her and retrieved his blade, before beginning his advance on her. Groaning Korra looked around for something, anything she could use, as she did, a flash of red caught her eye. It was blood, _her_ blood, on the blade tip of a spear, made of the same materials as the sword the Overlord was wielding, as well as a long carved wooden haft. She looked again to the advancing Overlord, who was almost upon her. She had nothing else, her sword was gone, she'd lost her bow, and her magic was dry. As the Draugr Overlord raised his longsword overhead, ready to strike down and end her life, she snatched up the spear, rushed forward and drove the blade tip into its chest.

The Overlord let out a guttural gasp, looking down at where the spear was impaled through it, then looked back up at Korra. "That has to kill you," she hissed, as she watched the blue light fade from its eyes, before it fell backwards, off the spear, and to the ground, its sword falling from its limp grasp to land with a clatter that rang throughout the cave. Korra stood there panting for several moments, just waiting, listening for any sounds of danger, when none appeared, she collapsed to her knees, exhausted.

**]|[**

No one had spoken in the Library for some time, all of them just absorbing what had just happened. Finally, though, Jinora broke it, "She's alive… we know that much at least now, she's alive and trying to find a way back."

"_Indeed human,"_ intoned Wan Shi Tong.

Team Avatar turned towards where he was standing, but he was ignoring them for the moment, instead directing his focus towards one of his helpers. _"Get the mess in the history section cleaned up and find me all the tomes you can on that tablet,"_ he ordered. The little fox, this one bearing a streak of silver down its back from head to tail, nodded, and began yipping at its fellows, who immediately dispersed, then Wan Shi Tong turned back to them, and began to approach. Once he was before them, he held out a wing to Asami, _"May I?"_

Asami stared at him confused for a moment, then followed his gaze to her necklace. She glanced back up at him warily, before finally seeming to make a decision and took it off.

"Asami what…" Mako started, but Asami interrupted him.

"If this helps get Korra back, I'll gladly give him what he asks for," she stated, before dropping the necklace onto the owl's outstretched wing.

"_Hmm, remarkable craftsmanship," _he mused, before glancing up at them, _"Korra made this herself?"_

"That's right, she spent weeks getting it right, and days finding all the materials she needed, as I understand it, she was missing the fire Ruby, and went out into the city to find one the day she intended to give it to Asami," Tenzin replied.

"So _that's_ what she was doing in that part of town," Mako muttered to himself.

The others ignored him, as Opal spoke up, "What's special about it, if it allowed Korra and Asami to speak to one another?"

Wan Shi Tong handed the necklace back_ "Nothing whatsoever." _They all stared at him gobsmacked, _"Physically, its just a piece of jewellery," _he explained, "_It has no more significance than the clothes you wear."_

"Then why…" Kai began, but the Spirit cut him off.

"_Emotionally on the other hand,"_ his gaze now fell on Asami, and for the first time since meeting him, Asami felt like she wasn't being condescended. _"Korra poured all of the love she bears for Asami into it… she may not have even been aware of it, but she did. As such, it now carries a piece of her, and that piece and Korra, are connected."_

All their eyes widened at his words. "Does that mean you can bring Korra back?" Tenzin asked hopefully.

"_Of that, I do not know,"_ Wan Shi Tong stated, _"Which is why I intend to begin researching that."_ As he finished, he nodded to the tablet they were all standing next to.

"What is it?" Asami asked.

"_Not a clue, that's why it's in my storeroom where I keep anything I haven't researched or catalogued yet," _he answered. _"My assistants found it just three weeks ago, half buried in sand on a beach not far from Republic City."_

"Fascinating," Jinora breathed as she examined it as well, "The words look ancient and are like nothing in historical records."

"_Precisely, little one,"_ Wan Shi Tong agreed, _"I had intended to leave it till later, but now that we know it is connected to Korra's disappearance, we will have to move the schedule up." _Several foxes arrived bearing various scrolls which they presented to Wan Shi Tong, after receiving them, the owl turned back, _"You are welcome to assist me in discovering its secrets if you wish."_

Jinora's eyes became as wide as dinner plates, as she began bouncing up and down on the spot, "Oh yes, yes, yes, please!"

Wan Shi Tong chuckled as Bolin stepped forward, "Wait, you're not mad anymore about all…" he trailed off as he gestured to the destruction outside.

"_Mad… I'm utterly __**furious!**__"_ Bolin flinched back, and the others tensed, before Wan Shi Tong sighed, _"However… I will concede that Asami's actions were born of her desperation to reunite with Korra."_ His gaze now fell on Asami, _"It has been many millennia since I have seen true love expressed between humans… even though you knew you could not win… even though you knew the consequences, you kept fighting, kept doing anything and everything you could to rescue the one you love… __**that**__, I cannot deny."_

Asami gave him a hopeful look, "And that means what exactly?"

"_It means human, that I' am willing to help you find Korra, and bring her back,"_ his words were met with rising hope from the entire group, _"And I shall even forgive you for destroying half my Library… though for the latter, that __**is**__ on the condition, that you help __**fix**__ it."_

The members of Team Avatar all looked at one another, and the same unspoken agreement passed between them, _if it's for Korra, so be it_. They turned back to Wan Shi Tong, and as one, bowed low, as Tenzin spoke, "It would be our honour, Wan Shi Tong."

**]|[**

Korra finished binding her injury, pulling the bandage tight with her teeth, there wasn't much she could do about her mage robes here, she'd just have to wait till she got back to Riverwood to repair it. She then glanced down at the spear which was still lying beside her. She'd cleaned the mixture of her blood and that of the Draugr's off it already, leaving the weapon gleaming in the rapidly fading light. _Must be nearly sunset outside_, Korra mused.

She still didn't like the idea of carrying a weapon, but the spear had saved her life, and it was something she was far more comfortable with. When she'd been little, her dad Tonraq, had taken her out hunting and fishing, when they'd been able, and spears had been their tool of choice for that. _At the very least, it might be good to take it with me, even if I don't intend to use it, I can get it valued at the trader or even at the blacksmith._

Decision made, she picked up the spear and stood up. As she did, something in the wreckage of the chest caught her eye. She walked over, and used the butt of the spear to shift the rotten pieces of wood aside, to reveal… a tablet, with the same carving of a dragon's head as on the wall, below that though, was a carving of Skyrim, with various locations marked across its surface. Curious, she picked it up, the map didn't look accurate to today, but it was still an interesting oddity, maybe there was someone out there interested in something like this. She pulled her pack off, and carefully slid the tablet inside, then with her pack secure once more, she hoisted it back up, and started for the stairs.

As she climbed her way out of the tomb, and back into the fading light of sunset, she took a deep breath of the fresh Skyrim air. _Just another day in this strange new world I guess… bandits, creepy dungeons, giant spiders, undead, and a wall inscribed with words that let me speak to Asami…_ she shook her head at the craziness of it all. _Someone out there certainly has a sick sense of humour throwing me into this mess… guess there's nothing for it but to tackle this head on and hope for the best._

As Korra made her way down the mountain side and back to the lake, she determined that she would find more of those 'Word Walls'. If _one_ had allowed her to speak to Asami, then maybe one held the key, to getting home. Once she reached the lake's edge, she began trekking along the bank, heading back towards Riverwood, unaware, of the eyes watching her from the mountain.

* * *

**And that's a wrap for tonight folks, hope you all enjoyed, again please let me know what you thought in your reviews, as always constructive criticism is welcome.**

**For those of you wondering about Narash... yea we'll be seeing him again _real_ soon.**

**And as for Wan Shi Tong, honestly I did sympathise with the guy in ATLA, guy provides knowledge for the whole of the human race and we humans abuse it, and of course Zhao (rotten bastard that he is) just _has_ to go and burn an entire section of the Library. So I felt it was time to mend some fences... _after_ breaking a few more of course, cause we just _gotta_ pay the arrogant owl back for what he did to Jinora... but with that done... LET THE BONDING PROCESS BEGIN! **

**Again, hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time, laters ; ) **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, this story exsists purely because I want it to**

**Heh there everyone... yea I know I said the next update would be for Storm and the Hawk, and I'AM working on that, but it's taking some time to come together, so for the moment, we've got a new update for Korra.**

**First things first, Reviews!**

**Guest (Apr17): Erm... (looks back through last three chapters) you _are_ aware I've specifically stated that Korra doesn't currently have her Bending... right?... well, in case you weren't... Yes, I took her Bending away, and replaced it with the Elder Scrolls magic system, which is why Korra is relying on Magicka, and why she is unable to talk to Raava (who is the source of her Bending). They're not completely gone, Korra's just been... **_**separated **_** from them, for the time being... okay?... okay.**

**Moving... on.**

**GXY-2013: I hear you my friend and I do agree, the Bending powers were one of the highlights of the Avatar series for me... but this was something I _agonised_ over during the planning, and was one of the main reasons it took so long, and I just had chapter 1 sitting on my desktop unpublished. On the one hand, Korra with her Bending in the world of Skyrim would have been AWESOMENESS INCARNATE!... _however_... it also presented a writing issue. Allow me to lay it out for you. What do the _majority_ of enemies in Skyrim, use as a material, for both weapons and armour?... that's right, METAL... What Bending discipline did Korra learn before being kidnapped by the Red Lotus... that's right, METAL BENDING, as I illustrated at the very start of this story, where she punches in the front of a METAL Truck. As far as the more common enemies in Skyrim went, they wouldn't even be a threat to Korra, and while yes, it would have been incredibly funny to see Korra toss around some bandits for fun... it would _also_ detract from the sense of disorientation and confusion, I set up in chapter 2. If Korra had access to her Bending at the beginning of chapter 2, she'd have never been captured, never taken to Helgen, and thus never set on the path to save Skyrim... which would have derailed, EVERYTHING!**

**And this isn't even going into how OP Korra is post book 4 with her Bending, even if she'd ended up in Helgen, with the powers she has, she could have just B**** slapped Alduin back into his time vortex. Again, this was a precedent I set up in the chapter before hand, with the fight against the monsters in chapter 1 (yes I know you Skyrim fans know what they were, SSSSSSSHHHHHHHH!). **

**So in summary... while I did like the idea of Korra using her Bending to save Skyrim, the more and more I thought about the idea, the more difficult it seemed to implement. There were just too many hoops to jump through to both keep it entertaining and retain the flow of the story. Now that said, the idea of stripping Korra of her Bending was something I was against doing to start with, for the exact reasons you stated in your review, along with the fact that Korra _is_ a Bender. It's a part of who she is, and to take it away is to take away a piece of her identity. This however, then led me to something interesting, something that we could have gotten had Nickelodeon been somewhat more intelligent about their planning, and told the writers of the Korra spin off, that they were getting a second season earlier. And that, was Amon's removal of Korra's Bending.**

**This was such a great idea, we got a little of this in Aang's series after he removes Ozai's Bending, but then again, Ozai was the villain we don't care about him. We _did_ however care about Korra a lot more when the same thing happened to her, and okay yes she got her airbending in exchange so she wasn't left with nothing... and that could have been a **_**fantastic** _**setup for the next book... instead, we get the rushed slapdash job because Nick doesn't realise when they've struck gold. With this in mind, along with the fact that it would be _worlds_ easier for me to write the story, with a more balanced protagonist, I made my decision, and removed Korra's Bending for the duration of her stay in Tamriel. Apologies if this is not what you wanted to hear, but... there it is. I hope this at least allows you to understand my reasoning, and with luck, look at this story with a new perspective, and enjoyment, if you have any further questions, please PM me, I'll be happy to field them.**

**Whew, okay... now that that's sorted, let's continue the show, shall we**

**Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Dear Readers all... welcome back to..**

* * *

**Avatar: The Legend of Korra**

**Book 5: Skyrim**

Chapter 4: Bandits, Giants and Companions

It was well and truly dark by the time Korra saw the lights of Riverwood in the distance. She was stood on the shore of the lake, not far from the point where the water flowed out, becoming the river that led past the small village. Korra contemplated camping out for the night and returning in the morning, she was already exhausted, and didn't really feel like swimming to the other side of the lake, especially with the chill the night had brought on. Damp clothes, plus a chill would equal a cold pretty fast, and this world was not nearly as advanced in terms of medicine as her own, so she didn't want to take her chances. On the other hand, the hike along her side of the bank back to the bridge, would probably take a couple more hours. Korra estimated that it was almost ten o-clock, which meant it would probably be close to midnight by the time she got back, meaning everyone would be asleep, she'd have to wait until tomorrow anyway to return the Claw.

Taking a breath, she made her decision, and turned back to the forest behind her to find a good spot to camp. She froze as she turned, her hairs suddenly standing on end, as a shaft of moonlight illuminated something metallic beyond the treeline.

Korra didn't wait around and shot off along the shoreline as fast as her legs would go, heart pounding in her chest, fuelled almost entirely by adrenaline.

Behind her she heard a shout, "GET HER!" which only pushed her to go faster.

_Idiot_, she thought to herself, _of course the bandits would watch the entire mountain, stupid, stupid, STUPID!_

Behind her she could hear her pursuers racing to catch up, she glanced to the side, seeing that they were using a nearby rise, clear of vegetation to keep up with her and pin her to the lake shore, while three more bandits were keeping pace behind her. She looked back ahead, just in time to see the ground disappear down into the river below. Trapped, like a rat in a cage. Gritting her teeth, she raced faster, it would be dangerous, but she'd take the river before the bandits, who had clearly been expecting her to slow down, and now raced to catch her before she reached the bank.

"STOP HER!" came another yell from behind her, just before Korra felt a whoosh of air right next to her and saw an arrow sail passed and into the river.

_Too late to turn back now_.

With that thought, she launched herself off the tall bank, and over the rushing water below, a couple more arrows shooting passed. She had just started angling herself into a dive, when pain exploded in her leg, Korra looked down to see an arrow had struck her, crimson blood, appearing almost black in the darkness, already soaking into her leggings. Another stab of pain shortly followed, as another arrow struck her side as the force from the first, spun her slightly in mid-air. Then she crashed into the river, the frigid water slamming into her, knocking the air from her lungs. As she disappeared beneath the surface, her vision quickly turned black, as she was swept away.

**]|[**

Narash stared at the section of river the girl had disappeared into, even if she'd lost consciousness, he knew the river was deep enough that it would sweep her downstream. His gaze rose to the far bank, and then travelled down the river. Instantly, his eyes caught sight of Riverwood, growling, he turned to his men, "Come on!" he barked, leading the way down the bank further, heading north towards the bridge that led across.

"But boss, there's no way she'll survive," one of his men called out.

Narash rounded on him, "I won't be satisfied until I've seen her _corpse_ with my own eyes!" he snapped, causing the man to flinch back, "Besides, she still has the Claw, if we want our gold, we need to get it back… is that understood!"

He received no argument.

"Good, let's get to the bridge and keep an eye on it, if the villagers fish her out of the river, I don't want someone running off to warn Whiterun." He then pointed to Montelas and another archer, "You two, stay here and watch the opposite bank, if you see her or anyone else leave Riverwood via the south road, fire a flaming arrow at once. At dawn, head to the bridge, we'll meet you there, and put an end to this," both nodded, and as the others departed, they began to set up camp, and prepare for a long night.

**]|[**

Ralof was enjoying a quiet drink out on the pier that stuck out into the main body of the river, that ran past the village, his mind wandering to Korra as he stared up at the mountain in front of him. He knew he shouldn't be worried; he knew the girl could take care of herself, but he couldn't shake this feeling, that something wasn't right. He gave a shrug, and downed the last of his mead, before getting up, ready to call it a night, when he noticed something in the river.

At first, he wasn't sure what it was, it was too dark. As it drew closer though, he realised it was a travel pack, with a bow and a strange looking spear strapped to it. Curious, he stepped right to the edge of the pier and squinted into the darkness, just as the pack came within range of the pier's single torch, and Ralof saw who was attached to it.

"KORRA!" he yelled, and without hesitation, jumped into the river, swimming hard against the current to reach her. As the current swept her into his arms, he pulled her upright, freeing her head from the water, while with his legs, he kicked out, and wedged himself between two rocks. Then he checked for a pulse, he was relieved to find the girl still breathing, and with a steady pulse. While he hadn't seen them though, he had felt the arrows she'd been hit with, and guessed she'd been in the water for several minutes at least.

Taking a breath, he sent a silent pray to Talos, before calling out as loud as he could, "HELP, SOMEBODY HELP US, FOR THE LOVE OF SHOR HELP!"

It seemed Talos smiled on him tonight, as only seconds after his words had died away, he heard someone rushing towards them, from the direction of the mill.

"Hang on Korra, just hang on," he whispered, as their rescuers called out to them, before answering, "OVER HERE, IN THE RIVER!"

**]|[**

Korra was wrapped in darkness again, at first it had been cold, but then she'd felt a pair of arms wrap around her, then more hands as she was dragged free from the cold, and then carried with great care. Shortly after that, she was warm, and could hear a light crackling. Then she was fed a warm liquid, the taste of alcohol filling her mouth, pain followed, not stabbing or sudden, but drawn out, as though someone was removing thorns from her side. She imagined that without the alcohol, it would have been worse. Once the 'thorns' had been removed, the place where they'd been were cleaned and bandaged, she also felt someone inspecting her shoulder, as well as something making contact with the cut on her cheek, which burned with pain, before going almost numb. Finally, it was over, and Korra felt something warm and soft cover her body, it reminded her of the nights she had slept next to Naga, and she curled tighter into it.

Sometime later, she became aware of sunlight hitting her face, as well as voices. "She going to be okay?"

"Yes, the arrows didn't hit anything major, and she wasn't in the water for long enough for there to be serious harm… I don't like to think about what might have happened if you hadn't spotted her… if she'd reached those falls."

"Let's give thanks to the Divines then… they've clearly given her their luck."

"That they have brother."

Korra then slipped back under, unsure how long she was out for before her eyes began to blink open blearily. Instantly, she spotted Gerdur, tending to some house chores, "Gerdur," Korra called out weakly.

The woman stopped, and spun around, a smile breaking out across her face, even as her eyes filled with tears, "Korra!" she cried, rushing to her, "Your awake… how are you feeling?"

Korra lifted her head up, propping herself up on her elbows, "Some aches… head's a little sore."

"You had a nasty bump," Gerdur stated, "Must have hit your head after you went in the river."

"River?" Korra said, frowning, then the events of last night came flooding back, she groaned and collapsed back on the bed, "Damm bandits… didn't think they'd be smart enough to watch the whole mountain."

Gerdur nodded, "We figured you'd been attacked," she replied, "What happened exactly?"

"I was on my way back when," Korra didn't get to finish though, as the door burst open and Frodnar rushed in.

"Mom, there are some bad looking people crossing the bridge into the village!"

"What!?" Korra and Gerdur said at once.

Frodnar nodded, "Their being led by this big Orc wearing steel armour!"

_Narash_, Korra thought with gritted teeth, _wasn't damm satisfied with chasing me into the river I see_.

"Gerdur, help me up," Korra grunted as she propped herself up again.

Gerdur whirled to her, "No, Korra you cannot go out there, they'll kill you!"

"I just want to find out what they're doing, I'm not gonna head out there," Korra replied.

Gerdur seemed conflicted for a moment, before nodding, and helping Korra up and to the door. Korra stayed just out of sight, her back to the wall right beside the door, while Frodnar held it open, and Gerdur stood just behind him. From her current position, Korra could just see past them down to the gap between the Trader and the Inn, where she saw Narash approaching a party of Riverwood's men, who'd gathered in a show of strength. It was pointless of course, the bandits outnumbered them two to one at least, and had proper weapons and armour.

Hod stood at the head of Riverwood's men, with Ralof standing beside him, as Narash came to a halt in front of them, then he began to speak, his voice loud enough to carry throughout the village. "Good morning, lovely day isn't it," Narash said with a smile.

"Say your piece," Hod spat, "Then be gone, we want no trouble here!"

Narash gave a small growl, before putting on his best diplomatic face, "No need to worry, we're not here to cause trouble, we just want _two_ things."

Hod's eyes narrowed, "And what might those be?"

Narash held up one finger, "The first, is we would like the Golden Claw back." At the back of Riverwood's men, Korra saw Lucan shuffle slightly, "The second, is the person who took it from us, an Imperial girl wearing mages robes."

Hod gave a gruff snort, "Well your wasting your time, we haven't seen a girl of that description, or any _Golden Claw_, so move on."

Narash's face turned sinister once more, "I know for a fact that they're here," he growled, "The girl did not wash up anywhere downstream from here, which means she must have been fished out of the river here." Korra noticed many of the Riverwood group now looked uncomfortable, "If she's dead, that's fine, let me see her body and give me the Claw and we'll be on our way."

Hod puffed out his chest and made sure to be standing at his full height, "I told you, you're wasting your time!"

Narash lost all patience, as he grabbed Hod by his shirt, "And I told you, I _know_ they're here, now give me what I want!" as Narash spoke, his men all drew their blades, as all of Riverwood's group – bar Ralof – took a step back.

Korra grit her teeth and turned back to face into the house. _If I just had my Bending, I could take this guy, and his men, all with one hand behind my back… just my Metal-Bending would be enough to send these guys packing!_ She thumped her head against the wall, instantly regretting the decision, as it only made her headache worse. She then stared up at the ceiling, there was only one other time she'd felt this helpless, and that had been as Mako had carried her through the corridors of the Pro-Bending arena, trying to get away from Amon, just after he'd taken her Bending from her. _Unlike that time, I somehow doubt I'm spontaneously going to get my Air-Bending right in the nick of time_, Korra thought to herself frustratedly, before closing her eyes, and taking a deep breath.

_Raava, if you can hear me, please, I need your help, something, anything_, Korra pleaded, but as before, all she got was silence. A breeze did pick up though, which shook the branches of the surrounding trees. As this happened, sunlight broke in through a nearby window, and began glinting off a metallic object directly across from Korra.

Korra glanced in that direction, noticing the Spear, propped up against the wall, next to her pack, and what looked like her newly repaired mages robes. Korra stared at the Spear, really looking at it, apart from what it was made of, there didn't appear to be anything special about it at all. It was well made, with a sturdy and strong wooden haft, and a well forged tip that must have been kept in supremely good condition, because there was barely any sign of degradation from being in that chest so long. Korra stared down at it, realising with a start, that she'd walked over to it, then she heard a shout from outside, as things began to escalate, and was fairly certain that Gerdur and Frodnar's voices had now joined the commotion.

Korra looked back to the spear, _Bending or no Bending, I can't let Narash and his goons hurt these people because of my actions!_ Decision made, she began rummaging in her pack, before pulling out some health potions. She quickly gulped down the bitter liquids, and soon enough, felt her strength begin returning, and her headache cleared. Next, she tapped into her Magicka, _not a lot, but it will do for a quick healing… really gotta be more careful with how much I use, doesn't seem to regenerate that fast_. She called up her healing magic, and focused on her shoulder, side and leg, ensuring that the injuries would not hamper her movement too much. Then she donned her mages robes, silently thanked Gerdur for fixing them, before picking up the Spear, _you saved me once already… think you can do it again?_

Korra wasn't really expecting a reply, but the breeze did suddenly pick up unexpectedly, and carried with it the raised voices from outside, reminding Korra to hurry. All doubts banished, she marched outside, to see Ralof, Hod and several others on their knees, about to be executed by Narash.

_Not on my watch!_

"Heh, Narash!" Korra yelled, drawing everyone's attention, "I hear your looking for me!"

Narash stopped and turned around, before a broad, toothy smile split his face, "Just to be sure… Montelas, that her!?"

Montelas stepped forth from the group of bandits, "Yea Boss, that's her."

Narash turned back to Korra, "Well, well, finally come out of hiding, have we?"

Korra pointed her Spear at Hod, Ralof and the others, "You wanted me, now you've got me, so let them go!"

Narash glanced at his captives, before sneering at her, "If by some miracle you happen to win, then of course, they're free to go." He levelled his blade at her, "But first you must face me."

"Korra, no, run, get out of here!" Ralof yelled, before one of the bandits punched the side of his head.

Korra snarled, before getting into a ready stance, "Just you and me, leave your men out of this!"

Narash nodded, as he lazily twirled his steel sword through the air a couple times, "Of course, after all… I give no one but myself the pleasure of killing you!" he then began to circle Korra. Now that he was closer, Korra noticed a few more details about him, specifically, the way he moved. It was slow, deliberate, but with a lightness that reminded her of a Polar Leopard.

_A predator stalking prey._

Narash's voice broke her from her thoughts, "My only regret, is that this way prevents me from drawing it out… I'd have preferred to make you suffer for all that you did!"

Korra followed his movements, standing in the same spot, but shifting slowly from foot to foot, to prevent the muscles from falling to sleep. "And what exactly did I do?" Korra asked, playing for time, hoping he'd tire himself out with his pacing.

Narash now snarled, "You killed my men, you made a fool of me… but worst of all, you killed my _Brothers_!"

As he yelled the last word, he lunged, sword slashing straight for her neck. Korra jerked backwards, before thrusting out with her Spear, forcing him to back off. "I warned them, several times, I gave them plenty of opportunities to walk away… instead, they chose to attack me, and I was forced to defend myself!" She intercepted a second attack by jabbing her Spear in his direction, forcing him to abandon the attack.

"That doesn't matter!" Narash roared as he attempted to get passed her guard, "They were still my Brothers… and _you_ are responsible for their deaths!"

Korra couldn't deny that, her stomach still churned at the thought, it also called up the memory of Lucius, the Imperial soldier she had burned to death, and the hatred etched into the Imperial Captain's face. Narash's sword came down in an overhead strike, which Korra dodged, only for her injured leg to buckle, just as she recovered her stance, the back of Narash's gauntleted hand, connected with her face, and sent her sprawling.

Narash growled, "GET UP!" he yelled, "Get up Imperial, I won't sully my honour as a Warrior of Malacath, by killing you on the ground, now get up!"

Korra pushed herself back to her feet, gritting her teeth against the pain in her cheek and in her leg. "I'm sorry about your brothers, but they didn't give me a choice," she began, before being forced to duck another swing of Narash's sword.

"I don't care that your sorry," Narash growled, "I don't even really care that they're _dead_." At Korra's confused look he continued, "What infuriates me, is the _way_ they died!" he roared, as he struck again, with Korra desperately parrying the blow. "You killed them, not as a Warrior, but as a coward, through trickery and deception!" he struck again and again as he ranted, "With magic instead of steel!" Korra was being pushed further and further back, until she backed into a tree. "They both died unable to defend themselves, unable to fight back, like a _True Orc_, now Malacath will never accept them, never view them as True Warriors!"

As Narash's rant finished, the tip of his blade caught Korra's arm, creating a neat cut that began to ooze blood. Narash gave a sneer of victory, "Now I shall make you pay the blood price for what you have done, Imperial!"

Understanding washed over Korra like a tide, as she rolled away right before Narash's blade bit into the tree where her head had been seconds before. Korra didn't know who this _Malacath_ was, but she guessed from the way he was talking that it was some sort of Orc religion. "Then tell me, does your Malacath also condone attempted rape and potential torture of an innocent!?" Korra spat back, as she lunged forward, taking Narash in the leg with her Spear point, causing him to grunt in pain, before he swung his sword at her, forcing her to back off.

"Malacath cares not for tears or sentiment," Narash growled, "If you were not strong enough to fend them off, then you did not deserve your freedom in the first place!"

He advanced on her again, as Korra stared at him incredulously, "How does that even make sense!?"

Narash gave a snort, "The Code of Malacath is very clear; Don't attack without reason, fight with honour, protect your tribe… _those_ are all Malacath cares about." He launched another overhead swing at Korra, only this time, she didn't dodge. Instead, with one hand, she used her Spear to turn aside the attack, before rising up and delivering some solid blows to Narash's injured leg.

The Orc gave a cry as his leg gave out beneath him, and he collapsed to one knee. Before he could recover, Korra had twirled the Spear around in hand, and drove the blade tip, into his sword hand, causing him to cry out in agony. Korra then kicked his sword out of his now limp grasp, before using her good leg to pin Narash to the ground, and brought her now bloody Spear tip to Narash's face, his eyes crossed as he tried to momentarily focus on the weapon in front of his nose, before returning to Korra. "Go on, FINISH IT!" he roared.

Korra stared down at him, unlike last time, with the Captain, she felt no red haze come over her, she was completely calm as she stared the Orc down. Then, she released him, stepping off him and pulling back her Spear. Narash stared up at her in shock as she turned and began walking towards the villagers. "HEH, GET BACK HERE, WE'RE NOT DONE YET!" Narash bellowed, as he pulled himself shakily to his feet.

"Yes, we are," Korra replied, "I beat you, so get out… that was the deal." Korra said all this with her back turned to the Orc, but she didn't need her eyes to anticipate his next move, his armour and anger gave him away well enough. Frodnar hadn't even finished shouting to alert Korra, before she was stepping to one side, and smashing her elbow into Narash's face, just as her teachers back home had taught her during her self-defence lessons. Then she used her Spear to sweep his legs out from under him, sending him crashing back to the ground, where he lay groaning, before finding the Spear tip in his face again.

"Your brothers came at me with the intent to rape me," Korra snarled, "As far as I'm concerned, they had no honour, nor did their attack have any reason to it besides to satisfy their bestial urges." Narash stared up at her, this girl with short dark hair and mocha skin, with eyes as blue as Skyrim's sky and currently, just as cold. "What's more… I'm not from here, I don't believe in any of this land's gods, including your own… so why should I have to follow their rules!?" Narash seemed to shrink into himself as she continued, her ice-cold gaze reminding him far too much of the many Draugr he'd faced over the years. "And finally… if I'd had access to the abilities I was trained in, this fight wouldn't have even lasted five seconds!"

Narash now stared at her, dumbfounded, "And what makes you say that!?" he snarled.

She now turned fully to him, her gaze still hard, but her face pitying, "Because I've been trained, pretty much since I was five years old, to be the protector of the land I come from." A silence descended over the village, with everyone staring at Korra, "Back home, I was known as 'The Avatar', Master of all Four Elements, Air, Water, Earth, Fire… I've been trained by some of the greatest masters to have ever lived, one of whom was the wife of the Avatar before me." Korra had by now withdrawn her Spear, and Narash was sitting up, staring at her in shock, "Combat, magic, even just basic survival skills, I learned it all… I've gone up against opponents who'd crush you like a bug without a second thought… hell, I could have done so myself with my old abilities." At Narash's look of incredulity, she elaborated, "That armour your wearing… with my previous abilities, I could have used it to crush your torso with but a gesture… like a snake with a rabbit wrapped in its coils."

Narash's face went a sickly green in colour as he paled at that thought, "I wouldn't have of course," Korra added, "But I could've… and I know plenty of mages from my home who wouldn't have hesitated to do so."

Narash was now shaking as he realised how stupid a mistake he'd made, and how easily he could have been killed had the gods not pitied him so. Suddenly, a hand entered his vision, it was the girl's, he stared at it for a moment, before accepting it, and allowing her to pull him to his feet. "I didn't want to kill your brothers… just like I have no desire to kill you… but they gave me no choice… I'm giving you the same chance I gave them, to walk away… the question is, will you take it?" Korra stated as Narash stood there with her in the centre of the village.

Finally, he nodded, "Yes, I will." Korra nodded and smiled, as she stood to one side, and allowed Narash's men to come forward.

Montelas rushed in straight away and began supporting Narash before his Chief collapsed again, "I got you boss."

"Thank you, Montelas," Narash replied, as the Wood Elf helped him limp back to his men while another retrieved Narash's sword.

"Stay out of trouble Narash," Korra called as his men gathered protectively around him.

"We shall," Narash called back, turning to Korra once more, and giving her a nod of respect, Korra returned it, and was about to turn to the people of Riverwood, when Narash called out again. "You know… it is customary in this land… to know the name of a worthy Warrior, so that one can spread word of their mighty deeds."

Korra glanced back at him, to see the Orc giving her a genuine smile, Korra returned it, "Korra, my name is Korra."

Narash pushed himself upright, standing without Montelas' aid, before thumping a closed fist to his chest, "I shall remember your name, 'Avatar Korra', for you are a Great Warrior, strong, even when injured, and honourable… all of Skyrim shall hear of your courage."

Korra had no response to that, outside of a nod, which Narash returned, before limping out of the village (he got about as far as the gate before he required Montelas to aid him again).

**]|[**

Once Narash and his men had left, Gerdur took Korra straight back to the house, and treated her newest injury. "Honestly," she muttered to herself, "It's like your _trying_ to get yourself killed."

Korra had given her a wan smile at that, before agreeing to get some rest. She woke up the next day, feeling much more refreshed, her Magicka restored.

_Looks like I just needed to get a proper night's sleep… good to know_.

She joined Gerdur and her family for lunch, and showed them the strange tablet she'd found, "I don't know for sure, but I feel like this is a clue to me getting home… but I can't make heads or tails of the thing."

"Whiterun's Court Mage might be able to help you," Hod declared, "These sorts of oddities are right up his ally, or so I've heard," Ralof nodded in agreement.

Korra grinned at that, "Looks like I'm off to Whiterun then…" she trailed off awkwardly, "Erm, which way was Whiterun again?"

That got laughs out of all of them, before Gerdur pulled out their map of Skyrim, "Here, take this, it has all the major landmarks, and is sturdy enough that you can mark it with others that you find in your travels."

"Thanks," Korra replied with a smile as she examined the map, easily finding both Riverwood and Whiterun, _looks like I'm heading north, past the falls_.

"Korra," Gerdur began, causing her to look up at the older woman.

"Yea?"

"If you're heading to Whiterun… then I need to ask a favour," Gerdur said.

Korra put the map away carefully, "Of course, what is it?"

Gerdur took a breath, "This recent event with the Bandits has highlighted how dangerous the wilds of Skyrim are growing… and with that Dragon on the loose." Hod gripped his wife's hand tightly, a gesture she returned, "The Jarl of Whiterun needs to be told, Riverwood is defenceless, and since you're going there…"

Korra understood instantly, and gave a firm nod, "Of course, I'll speak to the Jarl, and get some help for Riverwood… after everything you've done for me, it's the least I can do for you."

Hod and Gerdur both nodded, as Ralof clapped his mug of mead down on the table, "Well in that case, I'll be going with you lass."

Korra glanced at him, one eyebrow raised, "I don't need a babysitter Ralof."

Ralof chuckled, "Aye, I know you don't, especially after that display with Narash," his face now turned solemn, "But it's about time I get back to Windhelm… and to the other Stormcloaks… the route to Whiterun is the most direct path from here, so I may as well accompany you to the crossroads at the base of the falls at least."

"That sounds like a good idea," Gerdur cut in, "Not counting the bandits, the road along the falls is usually a favoured hunting grounds of wolves and other predators… safer to travel in groups these days."

Korra could find no fault in their argument, so shrugged and nodded, "Sure, why not," she then shot Ralof a teasing smirk, "Besides, I've grown to enjoy your company," she fluttered her eyelashes at him the way she'd seen Asami do to her and Mako countless times, and it had the desired effect. Just as Ralof raised his newly refilled mug of mead to his mouth again, he caught the action, causing him to splutter and get it all over his shirt, as laughter filled the house.

**]|[**

A few days later – after her injuries had healed – as Korra and Ralof were fixing to leave, Lucan came by, with a rather large package in his arms. "For you, Avatar Korra," he stated, as he placed it on the table.

Korra glanced at him, then at Ralof and the others, before opening the package and examining it. Inside, was the Frostbite spell book she'd wanted to buy, along with several other essentials for traveling and adventuring. She looked up to a smiling Lucan, "Wow, thanks Lucan, how much do I own you for all this?"

Lucan held up a hand and shook his head, "Nothing at all, consider it a thanks for getting the Claw back and driving off those bandits." He gave a small shudder as he brought up Narash's group, "I hate to think what might have happened to our little village if you hadn't been here."

Korra gave a small smile at that, "It's what I do," she replied shrugging, "But thanks, all the same, this will really come in handy."

Shortly afterwards the two of them were setting off across the bridge, heading north to Whiterun, Hod, Gerdur, Frodnar and the Valerius siblings seeing them off, with a couple waves from the other villages as they got on with the day's work. Soon they'd rounded the edge of the cliff that the road veered between with the river below and were on their way.

It was a quiet calm walk down through the forest, once again is was a beautiful day, with birds singing in the trees. They had a run in with a couple wolves, but the beasts were wise enough not to approach, but did watch them intently. The sight and smell of the waterfalls refreshed Korra, filling her with a new sense of purpose. Just because she couldn't bend the water, didn't at least mean she wasn't comforted by its presence. The air had a crisp, clean smell to it, free from the smoke of Republic City's chimney stacks and the exhausts of Sato-Mobiles.

As they neared the bottom of the falls, Korra glanced to Ralof, "You sure you're going to be okay getting to Windhelm on your own?"

Ralof nodded, "Aye I should be fine, I walked this road in my youth alone once before, I can do it again, just have to be careful and keep my wits about me."

Korra nodded, then smirked, "Just don't get drunk on your way there, if you lose your way, Gerdur's probably gonna make me come looking for you to drag your sorry behind back to Riverwood," she chuckled.

Ralof returned it, "I wouldn't put it past her, probably have me chopping logs for the rest of my life, knowing her."

They shared a good laugh at that, then they were stood in the centre of the crossroads. The road to the left, led to Whiterun, which already loomed over them, perched on it's hill above the tundra, its low stone walls looked a little on the crumbling side, but still gave off an aura of strength. Straight ahead, the road led to the north alongside what looked like farms that hugged the city's walls before the road snaked off into the mountains that lay beyond. And to the right the road crossed the river, and hugged the mountain range they'd just descended from, heading off to the east.

Ralof turned to Korra, "Well then, I guess this is goodbye for now eh?"

Korra nodded, "I suppose it is," Ralof extended his hand, and Korra grasped it, "Stay out of trouble, Mr Revolutionary," she said with a wry smile.

"Likewise, Miss 'Master of all Four Elements'," he replied waving his free hand as if he were performing magic, a broad smile on both their faces.

They gave each other a firm handshake, before both turning towards their intended destinations. Korra was just about to reach the pair of buildings on the left side of her road, when Ralof called back. "Oh, and if you ever find yourself in Windhelm, look me up at the Palace of Kings, I'll likely be back on active duty when you get there!"

"I'll keep it mind!" Korra called back waving, a smile on her lips, before turning back towards Whiterun.

Ralof watched her go. He hadn't told her, but he'd seen her during the ambush, the way she had moved, even if it hadn't been an attack, he'd intuitively known there was something special about her. Her performance in Helgen had further highlighted this fact, though her unwillingness to kill was a surprise… and now, thanks to Narash, that had been confirmed. "Master of all Four Elements, eh?" he mused, a bit more seriously than he had before. He had never heard of any magic like the kind Korra had described to them that day, but it had sounded powerful.

_We sure could use her on our side… and I'm sure if the Imperials ever found out about her, they'd feel the same way… the war could be won or lost depending on __**who**__ she chooses to side with._

Ralof then turned, hoisting his pack further up, and beginning his lonely march back to Windhelm. _Either way, I think I should tell Ulfric about her… if nothing else, she's someone all of Skyrim may want to keep an eye on soon_.

**]|[**

Korra hadn't gone far past what she assumed was a brewery – judging from the smell of honey coming from it, despite a conspicuous lack of beehives – when something very big, and very angry loomed over the low stone wall alongside the road that marked the boundary of the nearby farm.

It was a man, or at least resembled one, it was at least three times larger than any man Korra had seen before, was dressed in furs, and wielded a massive club – more of a tree trunk really – in one hand. Said club, Korra noted was coming straight for her, causing her to instinctively dive out of the way. The club smashed into the ground behind her, as she came up in a roll. She was just about to turn and fight this thing, when an arrow slammed into its chest, causing it to stagger.

Korra looked around just in time to see a tall man with chestnut hair, decked out in an elaborate but functional metal cuirass that was themed off wolves. He was wielding a large two-handed steel sword, and the look in his eyes was hard to miss, he was here to kill.

"Out of the way!" he barked, shoving Korra to one side as he surged past, heading straight for the giant who was just recovering.

Korra then heard a yell behind her, "Imperial, if you don't want to die, I suggest you move!"

Korra glanced in the direction of the shout to see a woman with a similar hair colour, dressed in furs and leathers, holding a taut and nocked bow, before she loosed another arrow, mere feet over Korra's head at the giant. Another woman in hide armour wielding a sword and shield also ran by to aid the man who'd just shoved past Korra.

Korra wisely scrambled out of the way, but no sooner had she gotten clear, than the giant pounded its club into the ground, the shockwave knocking the armoured man and his compatriot on their backs. "Damm it!" came the first woman's voice again.

In the same instant, a shrill scream split the air, and all heads – including the giant's – turned to see a small girl, hiding under a cart just a few steps from the giant. The giant turned to the cart, a mad look in its eyes. The armoured man and his comrade had yet to regain their feet, and though the huntress' arrows continued to find their mark in the creature's back, it paid them no mind, as it advanced on the cowering girl.

Korra didn't even wait for her mind to weigh all the pro's and cons, she simply acted. She pulled her Spear out of its holder on her back, while simultaneously dumping her travel pack on the road – she needed balance for this, and the pack was just extra weight – before lining up her stance. The Huntress noticed what she was doing, as had the armoured man and his comrade. Korra heard the armoured man bark something to his comrade, but didn't catch the words, meanwhile the Huntress was doing everything she could to slow the giant down.

Her shot lined up, Korra raced forward half a dozen paces, just as the giant raised its club to strike. At the end of her dash, she let fly with all the strength she could muster. The Spear sailed through the air, and struck true, piercing the back of the giant's skull. In the same instant, the armoured man's comrade, raced forward, scooped the girl from under the cart, and raced her to where her parents were standing just outside their farmhouse door.

The armoured man had by now regained both his feet and his sword, and stood ready, as the giant staggered round to face them. It gave a single grunt, before collapsing face first, into the dirt. No one moved for several moments, then the armoured man gave the giant an experimental poke with his sword, the giant was unresponsive. "Clear!" he shouted, and everyone began to relax.

"Not bad outlander, not bad at all," Korra turned to see the huntress from before lowering her bow and returning her arrows to her quiver, "You have a good arm and decent reactions… you'd make for a decent shield sister."

Korra quirked a brow at that, feeling like she was being appraised, like some sort of pup at a pet store, "Thanks… and it was nothing really, I was gonna leave you to it, but I couldn't let an innocent get hurt."

Korra and the huntress looked in the direction of the farmhouse where the parents were thanking the other female warrior profusely for rescuing their daughter. The huntress now chuckled, "And a good heart too I see… yes you might just do."

Now Korra frowned, "Do for what?"

Now she full on laughed as the armoured man retrieved Korra's spear from the giant's skull, "An outside heh, never heard of the companions?" At Korra's continued look of confusion, she elaborated, "We're an order of Warriors, brothers and sisters in honour, if ever the people of Skyrim have a problem that needs solving, and they have the coin to pay for it, we'll be there."

"Just like today's hunt," the armoured man stated as he joined them.

"Quite so Farkas, quite so," the huntress replied.

Korra was impressed to say the least, the giant had clearly been orders of magnitude stronger than any one of them. Together however, they'd formed a single unit to take it down, and had done a surprisingly good job of it.

_Until I stumbled in the way._

"This is a good weapon by the way, where'd you get it?" the man named Farkas asked.

His words broke Korra from her thoughts, "Oh, I found it up in Bleakfalls Barrow, saved my life in fact."

Farkas appraised the weapon once more, before handing it back to Korra, "Then I recommend not losing it," he stated, "A weapon this finely made, only comes around once a lifetime."

Korra nodded as she took the Spear back, "I will, thank you," she said nodding, "My name's Korra by the way."

Farkas smiled, "I'm Farkas, and this ray of sunshine here is Aela," he gestured to the dour looking huntress, "And over there is Ria, collecting our pay as usual," he finished gesturing to their third party member.

"Nice to meet you," Korra replied, just as Ria arrived, holding up a bag of coin.

"Nice to meet you as well," Aela replied, "Now if you'll excuse us, we should be getting back to Whiterun."

With that the three of them began heading off in the direction of the city. Korra was caught off guard for a moment, before she came to her senses, holstered her Spear once more, and grabbed her pack, all while racing to catch up. "Heh wait, can I join you," she called.

Aela glanced back, once more giving her an appraising look, "Not for me to judge, that's up to Kodlak Whitemane, you'll need to speak to him."

Korra gave a smile as she caught up to them, "I just meant into the city… but joining up with a band of honour bound warriors sounds good too."

Farkas chuckled, "Oh, I like her… let her tag along Aela, the city guards won't let her in otherwise, and it's the least we can do after she helped us with that giant," Ria beside him nodded.

Aela sighed, "Alright fine, just keep up so you look like one of our group, or the guards will stop you at the gates."

"Why would they do that?" Korra asked.

"With all the trouble that's been happening recently, first the war, which has led to an increase in bandit raids… and now there are rumours of dragons going round, the Jarl has ordered the city closed to outsiders," Farkas explained.

At the mention of dragons Korra's eyes hardened, "Actually, that's why I'm here." The three of them looked at her curiously, "Helgen was attacked just last week by a dragon, and the people of Riverwood fear they might be next," Korra explained. "I've been sent by Gerdur, the owner of the mill there to seek the Jarl's aid."

Aela, Farkas and Ria shared a glance, before Aela turned back to Korra just as they were passing under the first gate, which led them up the road that led to the main gate. "You'll want to head straight up to Dragon's Reach then, when you enter the city."

"Dragon's Reach?" Korra asked frowning.

"It's the big wooden palace at the top of the hill, just keep going up, you can't miss it," Farkas replied.

Korra nodded in response, as they neared a drawbridge and a second gate, which led into a long courtyard in front of the main gate. The guards standing out front, signalled up to another on the wall. There was some movement from the gatehouse, before the massive doors gave a groan as they swung open. Korra and the others were about to pass through them, when one of the guards spoke, "Wait… who's that!?"

Korra winced as she realised, they'd been rumbled, but Aela came to her defence, "She's with us."

The guard frowned, "I don't recognise her… when did she join the Companions?"

"She hasn't… yet," Farkas replied, "But she did just help us take down a giant and in the process, saved a child from certain death."

Muttering swept through the guards observing, either atop the wall, or on the other side of the gate. The guard who'd spoke out though, still did not look convinced, "I'm sorry, but I have my orders, no outsiders are permitted in the city."

He stepped forward to pull Korra out of the Companions group, but Aela stepped in his way, "Then maybe you'd like to explain to your superiors, why a plea for aid to the Jarl, from Riverwood, never reached his ears?"

More muttering, and now the lead guard looked intrigued, "Plea for aid?"

Korra decided to take the initiative handed her by Aela, "I come bearing news about the dragon attack in Helgen, Riverwood calls for the Jarl's aid."

Now there were bystanders from the civilians as well joining in the gossip, and the words finally seemed to sway the lead guard, "Well… that changes things… I suppose considering the circumstances, you can be allowed entry… but stay out of trouble, or I won't hesitate to have you thrown in the cells for a few days, understood?"

Korra nodded, "Absolutely."

The guard nodded, before stepping aside and letting them pass, "Welcome to Whiterun."

With that, Korra and her group entered the city, to the mutterings and gossip of all the on lookers. They took a straight line up towards the marketplace, though Korra saw a set of stairs leading to the next level of the city, and what looked like a residential area. As far as cities went, this place could barely be considered a town, from Korra's perspective. Republic City was many times greater in both size and scope than this place, but from what she'd seen so far of this land, it made sense. This region was more rural than urban, with the landscape either dominated by forest, farmland, or wilderness, and carried the infrastructure to exploit the resources found in these areas. Still, it was a quaint town, nonetheless, and although the air was closer, and tinged with the smell of human habitation and all that came with. The crisp clean smell of the tundra still permeated everything.

Once reaching the marketplace – where hawkers were selling their wares to any passer-by, in front of a couple of shops and an Inn – they took a second, larger flight of stairs, to a sight that broke Korra's heart.

Standing at the top of the stairs was a great tree, that once would have filled the circular pavilion they now found themselves in, with soft blossoms and sweet scents, but now stood bare, and barren. Behind it to the left, was what appeared to be a temple, and if the small footbridge over the channel that ringed the pavilion was any indication, the tree was a part of the temple. To the other side, was a great statue, of a man in resplendent armour, stabbing his sword into the throat of a serpent that was trapped under his feet. To the left was the residential area that Korra had seen before, and to the right, was what looked like an inverted boat that had been transformed into a longhouse at the top of another flight of stairs. The companions were gathered at the bottom, waiting for her.

Aela turned as she approached, "This is where we part ways for now," she declared, before pointing further up, indicating the only other path to take, a long somewhat narrow flight of stairs that led to a massive wooden building that overlooked the entire town. "That there is Dragon's Reach, you'll find the Jarl there."

Korra nodded, before turning back to the three of them, "Thanks for your help getting me in here, I hadn't anticipated the city being closed to outsiders," she said, extending her arm.

Aela gave a smile and nod as she accepted the gesture, "Consider us even now then."

Korra nodded and smiled as they broke apart, "If you ever feel like earning some extra coin, come give us a look, we're always willing to welcome strong warriors with good hearts like yourself," Farkas added, nodding up to the building behind them.

"What is that place exactly?" Korra asked.

"Jorrvaskr, home of the Companions," Aela said proudly, "If you ever find yourself heading up there, speak to Kodlak Whitemane, he'll decide whether your worthy."

Korra nodded once more, bid them farewell, before beginning the climb up to Dragon's Reach.

_One step closer… I'm one step closer to returning home… wait for me… Asami._

**]|[**

Asami sat in her office, a mountain of paperwork in front of her. It was now just over a week since Korra had been pulled through the portal, and she'd been unable to put off work any longer. The board had been very understanding and had said that if she needed some more time to work things out, they understood and could manage fine in her stead. Asami though, could not in good conscience leave things hanging any longer, this entire event had derailed her life plenty already, if she let it go on, she'd never get back on track. She took a deep breath and brought her hand to the necklace that she now wore constantly around her neck. Though she knew it was just her imagination, she often felt like she could still hear Korra through the trinket.

_I'm waiting Korra… please hurry back._

With that silent prayer, she set her mind to the task at hand, all her faith and trust, placed in Jinora and her team working in Wan Shi Tong's library.

* * *

**And that's a wrap today folks.**

**Don't forget to leave a review it helps so much, both in terms of improvement and motivation.**

**As always constructive criticism is welcome, and I shall see you all next time, Peace ; )**


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